The Microsoft Elite: Digital Conflict
by TheLeaneHunter9
Summary: There's a war breaking out in the world of Microsoft. As all hell breaks loose, a select few find that they have the ability to take on any opponent using powers which were instilled within them. Two people now claim that they can help them fight back against the threat, but only one of them is telling the truth. Which one is it though?
1. Chapter 1

Control.

That was the one thing everyone knew about Ultratech. They had control.

From the top of Ultratech's world headquarter tower, it was easy to see why. You looked down at the cars on the street, they were manufactured by Ultratech (Well, the tower was too tall to see all the way to the ground). You saw advertisements for the latest new shoes, or energy drink. They sponsored Killer Instinct, and guess who ran that? All the signs in the night lit up the metropolis, but despite everything they had, the tournament that was being held tonight was what Ultratech was most famous for.

At the top of it all was the Artificial Robotics Intelligence Architecture, ARIA. Artificial intelligence designed to run Ultratech in the most efficient way possible, she now headed the organisation.

"Well? Have you quite finished staring out a window?" A voice asked.

ARIA turned to the man. He had a grey beard and grey hair, covered by a hat, wearing a neat black suit. He was emitting a strange orange aura wherever he went, and that wasn't the strangest thing about him. He always had his hands behind his back, but yet they never needed to leave that position for him to do anything. He seemed to float everywhere, and even when a door was closed in front of him, he seemingly just willed it open. Someone ARIA knew as the Shadowman.

"I see no need for a rush." ARIA countered, perfectly calm.

"There's perfect need for a rush!" Another voice objected. There was a lot you could say about his appearance. He looked like a 1930's cartoon, with ridiculously long limbs, especially in proportion to his body. He had a coat of black fur which covered his entire body and cat like eyes. His ears were pointy, but not as pointy as the two horns that jutted out of the top of his head. "I can't bear another second of those brothers...existing!" He ranted, slamming his trident on the ground.

"I think that can wait." A woman objected. She too looked cartoonish, with a ridiculous beanpole-like frame and grey skin with what few hairs she had waving in the air like they had minds of their own. She was also wearing a purple dress. "All you have to do is wait."

"I can concur." Another man spoke up. Well, he wasn't really a man so much as a CRT monitor with a game of pong wearing a king's robe. The Lord of Games, as he so called himself.

"Bah! Where's the fun in that?" The other person in the room questioned. He was an old man, greying hair and wrinkles galore. He wore a blood soaked lab coat along with blood soaked pants. "I would personally love to get out in the open."

"That's coming from you, though." The Lady of the Dead retalliated.

"Well, that's true." the Devil conceded.

"I thought we were of the same mindset!" Dr. West argued.

"We'll go when I'm ready!" The Lord of Games snapped.

"Who put you in charge?!" The Lady of the Dead demanded.

"I-"

"ENOUGH!" The Shadowman bellowed in a demonic voice. That calmed the fighting a bit. Clearing his throat and returning his voice to human, he turned to ARIA.

"Now, if I'm not mistaken, the final of the Killer Instinct tournament should be soon. Right now, in fact." He reminded her.

ARIA nodded. "Of course." A TV screen was brought down, showing an arena surrounded by eager spectators.

The two combatants were ready to come out of their tunnels.

Out of the first, came a robot with plasma claws, red eyes, a ponytail and a familiar metal makeup, Ultratech's prized possesion and number one product, the Fulgore Mk III.

"In this corner, the one and only masterpiece of combat! A marvel of engineering and fighting, here to prove that machine beats any man, Fulgore!" The announcer cheered.

"And in this corner, the former heavyweight champion of the world, here to prove he's the best of the best, the Crazy Buffalo, he's Balrog!"

Even looking at Balrog in comparison to Fulgore, ARIA could tell he was a freak of nature. Nothing out of the ordinary for Killer Instinct, but ARIA was sure that they made sure Fulgore's path to victory was as straight forward as possible.

Balrog was a dark skinned man, bulky and tall, almost matching up to Fulgore. He wore black shorts as well as boxing boots, with red gloves that had some logo on them. Most of this, however, was obscured by the sleeveless hood he wore. It was blue and yellow, and at one point, it obviously had sleeves, which Balrog had since ripped off. On the back, you could make out two words.

'Crazy Buffalo'. Obviously a nickname.

"Who's this?" ARIA asked. "I don't know. Some boxer guy, says he was the champ and now he's just looking for a paycheck." Cinder answered nonchalanty.

"Right..." ARIA muttered. But from the moment the Crazy Buffalo threw his first punch, ARIA knew things wouldn't be so easy.

* * *

Day 15 in the cell. It had been just over two weeks ago now.

Ultratech had rounded up every fighter that assisted them in fending off Gargos and had them locked up. This meant no more freedom for the likes of Tusk, Kim-Wu, Spinal, Thunder, Eagle, Maya and Sabrewulf. They were sent to an experimental facility where they were kept in entirely seperate sections.

It was night, and so most were asleep, except for one. She still wore her combat gear, her white top and green bustier, her combat boots and green shorts along with her night vision goggles that acted as a headband which Ultratech must have somehow missed, but Orchid didn't sleep. She was hungry.

She knew exactly how hungry she was too, but she didn't eat. She kept herself hydrated, but Orchid didn't want Ultratech to keep her caged up. The only reason she even drank water was due to the little hope she still had. Her brother, Jago, was still out there. He was capable of getting her out, at least.

But right now, she had other priorities. Right now, the guard would walk around, make sure everyone was asleep, and then lambast Orchid for lying against the wall at the back of her cell and for not eating again, then threaten to feed her to a squad of Ultratech Riptors or let the company hitwoman Sadira have her way with her. To be fair, that last idea was pretty chilling.

But anyway, here came the guard. No baton, instead, a gun.

The guard looked different tonight, definitely a different person. This man was pale skinned, and had short brown hair which was neatly combed over, along with a small moustache.

Come to think of it, he didn't look like a guard at all. Orchid knew her fair share about the military, and if she had to guess, she would have said that this man was a soldier. Not just your run of the mill soldier either. Judging by his uniform, Orchid would have said World War I, at the latest, was what war he would have been fighting.

But everything else about him said otherwise. He was armed to the teeth with bizzare and colourful tech. Like the gun in his hands, for instance. It was an MG08, a high capacity, high damage gun used during the first world war. But they were usually grey, and metallic. This one was a mix of light and dark blue, which might have just been a custom design, but the gun illuminated her cell, proving it was more than that.

He had some strange grenades on his belt. Aside from some standard issue fragmentation grenades, there were these strange devices which were half blue and half yellow, looking more like they would be used as light bulbs than as weapons. There was a Bowie Knife and a Remington New Model Army handgun on his belt too, or as TJ might have referred to it, a cowboy gun, obviously his side arm. It was a more metallic red and black, with the red illuminating her cell also. He wore what looked like a pair of knuckledusters on his hands, but most amazing of all was what was on his back.

It looked like a staff, with Orchid unable to make out what exactly it was, only seeing the head, which glowed a bright yellow.

"Black Orchid?"

No response.

"I'm looking for a Black Orchid. I'm told that this is the cell where she can be found."

The man then looked at the plate of cold and uneaten food as flies started to gather. "Guess there's no one in here."

Orchid paused for a moment. Was she seriously going to let this guy walk away? What did he want? Nothing good, Orchid could be sure.

But right now she was slowly and painfully dying while being held captive by Ultratech. What could be worse than that? Certainly nothing he could do.

"What do you want?" She called out weakly.

The man stopped and went back to the cell. "So you're Orchid?"

"What's it to you?" She questioned.

The man reached behind his back and pulled out another weapon. A Tomahawk. Much smaller than anything Thunder would use. It glowed a bright orange, like it had been set on fire and was never put out. With one quick slash, the lock came off, and the cell opened with a loud clang.

Orchid slowly got to her feet, rising to meet the man. "Who are you?" She asked.

"Tank Dempsey. I'm busting you out of here." He turned to leave the cell, signalling for Orchid to follow.

"Wait." Orchid stopped him. "How can I trust you?"

Tank didn't hesitate, throwing two familiar glowing sticks at Orchid, which she caught. Her Twin Tonfa Sticks!

"Some...thing called Glacius. I've gotta do him a favour, and I get something in exchange."

Orchid remembered the name. What did he want? The ice alien had shown up for Killer Instinct, with Orchid first seeing him defeat TJ Combo during the tournament. That was something else. Where was TJ? How about any of the other fighters from the Killer Instinct tournament?

The earth golem Aganos, or the crazy sorcerer Kan-Ra, even the vengeful spirit Hisako, there was no trace of any of them.

"Did he have anyone with him?" Orchid asked as Tank navigated down more and more corridors. "Other people? No. It was just him." Tank replied, stepping over an unconcious guard. "Any idea why he wants you? Or what the hell he's supposed to be?"

"He's an alien." Orchid explained. "His entire body is made of ice, which protects him from harm. But I don't know what he'd want with me."

But Orchid wasn't really paying attention to her answer, so much as she was looking at the staff on Tank's back. That was definitely the same staff. The head of the staff had blades either side of it, and the other end was glowing as well. He had another gun on his back too, which was a chrome colour along with some neon blue here and there.

"What kind of weapons are those?" She asked. Tank stopped. "Sorry?"

"The ones on your back. They're not exactly commonplace around here." She then reached for the staff. "Especially this-" "Don't touch it!" Tank ordered, elbowing her arm away from the staff.

There was a moment of silence, before Tank broke the ice again. "That's not something you need to know about." Then he paused. "Actually, hold still." He instructed, taking the staff into his hands and holstering the MG08, pointing the butt end of the staff at her.

"Woah, hold on!" Orchid raised her Tonfa Sticks in self defence. But it was a drag on her. There was no way in her current condition that she would be able to fight. "Look, ma'am, I've got so many machines that I could've killed you with the moment I saw you, I'm not going to kill you with this one."

"Well then what the hell's it for?" Orchid questioned. "No offense, but...you look like shit." Orchid looked down and noticed that too. She almost forgot, but when you went so long without food, you are going to look pretty bad.

Before Orchid could say anything more, Tank fired a blast at Orchid.

She looked down and realized she felt much better. She looked it too. Refreshed and ready to go.

"What was-" "Sekhmet's Vigor." Tank answered, reloading the staff. "Works wonders for you."

The rest of the journey was relatively uneventful, with Tank having taken out pretty much all of Ultratech's security measures on his way in.

The journey through the city was also uneventful, with both keeping a low profile as they made their way to a derelict part of town. The two eventually found a street littered with junk and vegetation, with the only building to go into being an old chinese restaurant with shattered windows and the door knocked off its hinges.

"Alright Glacius. I've got the one you want! Now it's your turn to hold up your end of the deal!" Tank barked.

There was nothing for a second, before the two could hear the sound of water spilling out onto the pavement. The puddle then started to take shape, forming a body with two yellow eyes.

Everything about him was alien. He was made of ice, giving a full view of his insides, not that there were many to begin with. He didn't appear to have a neck, merely a head on shoulders, with icicles lining his back.

"Thank you, Mr. Dempsey." Glacius spoke. "The book you desire is inside."

Going inside, there was indeed a book on one of the tables. An old leather covered book, with symbols on the front that didn't appear to mean anything. "Excellent. This is it alright." Tank confirmed, flicking through the pages. "I must ask though, where did you find it?" Glacius inquired.

"I didn't find it. I've gotta return it to the person who did." Tank answered.

"Anyway, Orchid. Do you know the whereabouts of your brother?" Glacius asked. Orchid shook her head. "I'm not sure. He managed to get away while the rest of us were locked up."

"The rest of us?" Glacius repeated. "So Ultratech had plans to capture anyone who participated in Killer Instinct. This is bad news. We'll have to get them out as well, if we can't find Jago."

Tank listened to the conversation carefully. He had seen the book in his hands do many crazy things. Maybe it could work its magic some more.

"Find 'Jago'." Tank instructed. The book sprung into action, earning the attention of Orchid and Glacius.

The book eventually stopped on a world map, showing 'Jago' to be somewhere in...'Gensokyo'. Where the hell was that? Come to think of it, the entire map seemed off. Like someone made it up.

"What the hell?" Orchid stared, confounded by the strange map. It also showed their location, a place called 'Adams City'.

"Find Summoning Key." Tank instructed. The highlighted point on the map shifted ever so slightly in Gensokyo, to a place called the 'Hakurei Shrine'.

"I don't remember the world being like this." Tank muttered. "Something's going on. I've gotta get to that key."

He stood up to leave. "Wait." Glacius stopped him. "I suggest we team up." Tank was hesitant. "I don't know. I'd like to keep as many people out of this as I can." Tank explained.

"We too have business in this place of 'Gensokyo'. Even if we must remain ignorant, at least let us travel with you." Tank paused. "Who's Jago?" He asked.

"Look. That prison cell you busted me out of, it belongs to a company. Ultratech. If we don't get as many people behind this as we can, we're gonna get crushed by them. Jago is one of our only hopes." Orchid answered.

That answer seemed to sway Tank. "Alright. But I'm the leader, got it?"

* * *

Fulgore was literally in pieces, sparks flying all over the arena as Balrog stood victorious in the middle of the arena. The crowd didn't cheer though, they were just stunned into silence as security guards ushered them away.

As for Balrog, he remained in the arena until one of the doors opened to reveal a woman with a Fulgore MkIII on either side of her. She was wearing a hoodie on top, not much on the bottom though, just covering the bare essentials. Her skin was ridiculously pale, but it was her claws that earned Balrog's attention. They ran along the side of her lower arms, and were extending off her fingers too. Balrog wasn't interested in that part about her, though she would have looked somewhat appealing despite all that, but the claws on her hands reminded him of Vega. He hated Vega. Hate and Balrog were used very frequently in the same sentences, as a matter of fact.

"Mr. Balrog, isn't it?" The woman began. "My name is Sadira. I'm here to take you to our headquarters." Balrog raised an eyebrow. "I just won. All I want is my fight money and to get out of here." Sadira rolled her eyes, earning more of Balrog's ire. "Yeah, but you've got to come with me so I can give it to you."

A short while later, Balrog found himself on the top floor of the Ultratech tower, face to face with ARIA. No sign of any other villains though.

"Mr. Balrog." ARIA congratulated. "I congratulate you on winning Killer Instinct. You shall receive fame, fortune and a place in the highest ranks of society for your efforts."

"Hmph!" Balrog grunted. "About damn time!" He made his move towards ARIA. "Now where's the money?" He asked, looking around. "That will come in due time." ARIA explained. "But to make up for it, we at Ultratech are willing to double your money if you could complete one simple task for us."

Balrog was paying attention. "What do I gotta do?"

"Well, you see," ARIA began to project a screen, showing a picture of another boxer. "this is Tyler Johnson Garrett. Otherwise known as TJ Combo. He's been trying to bring us down for quite some time now, and we'd like you to get rid of him. Along with the help of another, of course. He'll tell you everything you need to know."

"I'm still getting paid, right?" Balrog questioned. "Double payment." ARIA confirmed. "Fine. I'll get this guy for ya, but I'm not some errand boy, you hear?!" ARIA nodded. "Understood."

She knew where he was going though, and really didn't fancy his chances of survival. Or TJ's. All that had to happen was for everyone involved to tire themselves out before a Fulgore MkIII strode in and cleaned up the mess.

As Balrog left, the Shadowman entered the room. "What is it?" ARIA asked. "It's about that prison you have." The Shadowman began. "I decided to check on it, what, with your attention being divided with Killer Instinct and everything."

"Yes?" ARIA gestured for him to get to the point. "That secret agent girl is gone." ARIA stopped. "Gone?"

"Not there anymore, no."

Well, ARIA knew now at least that she had her hands full.

"Well, there still is some hope for us." The Shadowman continued. "You could always hope our spy behind enemy lines picks her up."

ARIA smiled remembering that. There was still that, thankfully.

 ** _Author's Note_**

Hey y'all, I'm back (to rise)! This time with Microsoft. A short chapter to start off, not too much to say about just this chapter, so I'll move on to other things.

So I thought I'd give some info on this story before I start, because I've been debating how this story should go for a long time.

The games (the lores of which, to be specific), I'm going to be focusing on are Killer Instinct, Call of Duty (Zombies), Splatterhouse and Touhou.

So this means that other games will get their spotlight too, but I'm choosing a lot of plot elements from these four in particular, mostly because I find that manageable, and I wanted to encompass a variety of lores.

So yeah, the villains are ARIA, Dr. West, the Devil, the Lady of the dead, the Shadowman and the Lord of Games, with the added possibility of some side villains later on. As for why the Shadowman is here instead of Dr. Maxis, I'll explain later, but I did buy Black Ops III to play more zombies and understand the story a little better, and I feel he would be a more fitting villain, all things considered.

I will say that the single biggest problem I came across while writing is that of my own headcanons clashing with what is canon in the game, especially, but not exclusively with KI.

So I took it as a challenge to write around these already established characters, and decided the best thing to do would be to add some more stuff on top of that which I'll explain later.

Also, can I just say that the KI character redesigns are really, really good. I like that Orchid looks more combat ready, Jago looks less like a Power Ranger, Maya reminds me of Lara Croft for some reason and that TJ dropped the eye patch and stupid haircut.

Compare that to SFV, where Akuma looks like he belongs in The Lion King, and for some reason, Vega now wears a shirt. Idk why, but that bugged me for some reason.

At least they got Balrog's redesign done well. He looks more like a boxer, and the flashy design of his sleeveless robe captures his personality quite well, easily my favourite in the game, and I expect no less for my main :D.


	2. The Conflict Begins

Alone in the mountains wasn't a nice place to be. It was cold, windy and snowing to cap it off, meaning anywhere could have been a death trap.

Luckily for the only person there, he was covered by a green armour, with a yellow visor to see out of. An iconic person indeed.

"Are you sure this is where I'm supposed to be?" Chief asked. "Positive. There should be people here any second now." Cortana responded.

Right then, a man did show up. He was wearing some kind of space suit, nowhere near as mobile or flexible as Chief's, with neon blue glowing lines going across his 'face'. He also had some strange weapon in his hands that...to be honest, didn't really look like a gun at all. More like an engineering tool than a gun.

"You're Master Chief, right?" He asked. Chief nodded. "That's me. Anything I can help you with?"

He extended his arm. "I'm Isaac Clarke. I was sent here from Playstation, heard you might need some help."

Chief shook his hand as Cortana explained to him the situation. "Yes, Isaac is one of the people I contacted. He's pretty good at what he does, so don't underestimate him."

"Master Chief?" Another voice piped up.

A woman this time. She wore armour, similar to Chief, only that it was grey and red. She had a pistol in one hand and some form of blade in the other.

Only her head was visible. She had incredibly pale skin, and dark red hair in contrast.

"Commander Shepard. I received a message from a 'Cortana'. Told me you might need some help."

"This is Commander Abigail Shepard of the SSV Normandy." Cortana explained. "Look, Cortana, I don't understand what's going on."

"I'll explain later. Right now, you've got some more waiting to do."

In the mean time, a few others arrived. An ordinary man with a giant mech was first to arrive. His name was Jack Cooper, and the mech was sentient, named BT-7274.

Then a man named Doomguy. He seemed a little odd, and trigger happy, but was overall good natured.

A Roman Centurion named Marius Titus arrived, as well as another sword wielding hero in Kaim Argonar.

A woman who could control the elements named Kameo was next to arrive, followed by a burly man named Marcus Fenix.

Last, but not least, was a man covered head to toe in armour called Death's Hand. Strange as the name sounded, Cortana assured Chief he was good, despite him not speaking a word.

"Alright, Cortana. Is that everyone?" Chief asked. "Yes." Cortana replied. "Alright then, why don't you explain to me then why you gathered so many people here." Chief suggested.

"Naturally." Cortana complied. "I will explain to you all about the Microsoft Elite."

* * *

So far today, nothing was happening at the Hakurei Shrine. While the shrine maiden did appreciate the peace and quiet, it also became pretty boring.

The Shrine Maiden was wearing her typical attire, a red and white shrine maiden uniform. She had blue eyes and brown hair which was held back by a red bow.

Reimu Hakurei was extremely devoted to her duties as a shrine maiden, but in her spare time, all that went out the window in favour of lazing around.

Not too far off though, there was someone else who was having quite the field day.

A witch. She had flowing golden hair braided at one side with a purple bow, and hazel eyes. She wore a black dress with a puffed out skirt and a white half apron. She also wore a witches hat with a large purple bow above the rim.

"Marisa?" Reimu's eyes widened at the plethora of items Marisa had gathered. Vending machines, a wooden box with question marks on it, guns of all shapes and sizes, chalk drawings of guns on pieces of wood, shovels, a tank, makeshift shields, turrets and turbines, it was like a yard sale.

"Oh. Hi Reimu." Marisa replied nonchalantly, trying to bust open one of the vending machines. This one was blue. Stocky and shorter than most of the other ones too.

'Quick Revive!' Was the name across the front of the machine, below the logo of a man who had risen from his grave in light blue and white. The machine was even singing. Come to think of it, all the machines were singing, despite not being plugged into anything. So that was where the noise was coming from.

"Marisa, where did these ones come from?" Reimu asked, sorting through a pile of weapons ripped out of some weird Star Trek spin off or something.

"No idea. Just found 'em." Reimu raised an eyebrow, doubting that Marisa 'just found 'em' lying around.

"Marisa, are you _sure_ you didn't steal these?"

"One hundred percent." She confirmed, growing frustrated with the machine. "Argh! Stupid machine won't open!" She then launched a punch at the machine, making a solid connection.

'Pop!' A bottle sprang up out of the machine, filled with a blue liquid it was advertising. "So all it took was a punch?" Reimu scratched her head. "That doesn't make any sense."

Marisa shrugged, taking the bottle. "Well, I'm not gonna say no to a free bottle of...well, anything, really." She muttered, popping the top off. Anxiously, she raised the bottle to her lips and took one sip from the bottle.

"Well?" Reimu asked.

Marisa immediately dropped the bottle and started coughing profusely. "Hey, are you alright?!" Reimu rushed over to her side, making sure she wasn't sick.

"Ugh." Marisa wiped her mouth. "Fish." She grimaced. Reimu looked around. Obviously 'Quick Revive' wasn't cutting it, so she may as well try a different one.

How about the red one? Same colour as her uniform. The machine itself was tall and slender, white on the top half, red on the bottom. Almost like it was made for her.

'Juggernog' was what it read. The logo on top of the machine this time was the first aid cross in a pinkish red colour with a bullet going through it, surrounded by the same red colour on the machine. Reimu tried the same tactic as Marisa, punching the machine. Not too hard, but hard enough that the machine might register an impact. It worked, with the bottle dropping down to the door on the front of the machine. Reimu reached inside and pulled out a bottle, slowly taking the top off and smelling it.

It was a sweet smell. Definitely not fish. "Well, what's the worst that could happen?" She asked herself. "I'm not sure. Give me a minute." Reimu ignored her and started to drink the contents of the bottle, and surprisingly, finished the whole thing.

Reimu belched, taken aback by the drink and tossed the bottle aside. It shattered into loads of tiny pieces as it struck the side of another machine.

"Wow...I feel...WAY stronger." Reimu started, slowly coming to her senses. "Well, I better get going back to the shrine." She said, walking away from the hoarded goods. "I'll be back later though."

Reimu certainly chose a good time to get back to the shrine. As soon as she was back, she could see something.

There was a man making his way to the Hakurei Shrine.

He wore a mask which guarded his face, and covered most of it, except his eyes.

Aside from that, he wore pants that were very basic, with no fancy designs or anything like that, save for a belt and two knee guards with fancy dragon designs, but nothing on his torso, exposing many tattoos which he had. Only two ropes did anything to cover him, and even then, they were only there to hold his sword. That must have hurt his back, or so Reimu thought. He didn't appear to be in any pain or discomfort.

Regardless, here he was, making his way towards the shrine, up the steps and coming face to face with Reimu.

Another thing she just noticed was that this man was pretty tall. All in all, he was a pretty intimidating man.

"Uh...I don't take it you're here to make a donation, huh?" Reimu laughed nervously. The man shook his head. "So...what _do_ you want? Spiritual guidance? Prayers? Maybe an exorcism?"

"Something like that, yes." The man spoke. Then he got into a fighting stance. "Woah, hold on!" Reimu protested. "I'm not here to fight you!"

"I'm sorry. But I have no choice." He said before launching a punch at Reimu. The shrine maiden ducked and got ready to fight, trying to jab him with her Purification Rod. But the attempt came up short with Reimu's jab stopping just in front of the man's face, with his fist being almost perpendicular to the rod, making an 'X' shape.

That was the last thing either of them saw before a bright green 'X' appeared, blinding them both and taking them away from the shrine.

* * *

The human village was the only somewhat normal place in this weird world, but to TJ Combo, that didn't mean much.

He certainly stuck out though. TJ was a dark skinned man, fairly well built, but with many unsightly stitches along his arms. If only they knew, right? He wore red MMA gloves, and a tattered old blue training shirt, with the words 'COMBO GYM' printed on it, as well as black shorts, with the flag of Texas on either side.

TJ had to find him, before something bad happened. Jago had been showing some bad signs as of late, and he wasn't so sure that Jago could control it on his own.

It started back when Ultratech turned on the very fighters who helped them defeat Gargos. Jago and TJ made a break for it without Maya or Orchid, and were surrounded by a squad of Riptors. That was when Jago...changed. It was only for a second, but it was enough to let TJ know that something was seriously wrong. Jago even warned TJ not to go after him, but the heavyweight champ didn't want to risk Orchid giving him hell from letting her little brother get himself killed.

Thankfully, Jago stuck out to the residents of Gensokyo, and so TJ was able to find out where he went with very little trouble.

TJ ran to the Shrine, hoping Jago hadn't done anything, only to find it was too late. Jago was standing over a woman who was weakly trying to get up.

"Reimu!" Another woman, dressed like a witch, cried out to the one trying to get up.

"Jago!" TJ called out to the warrior monk. He turned, but said nothing. "Man, what the hell are you thinking?!" TJ demanded. "Running off like that on your own and nearly killing someone, man, do you have _any_ idea what that sister of yours would say if she found out about this?!"

"Wanna know?" A voice from behind him asked, making TJ jump. Sure enough, the rogue spy was standing behind him, along with another familiar face. Glacius the ice alien. TJ still remembered that loss. There was a third man too, but TJ had no idea who he was.

"Hey Orchid." TJ greeted, not surprised to see her still free from Ultratech. "Look, I'll talk to him." Orchid went over to her little brother and threw her arm around his shoulder. "Hey JJ!" She greeted, rather enthusiastically. Some of the others would have called it very out of character if they weren't busy helping Reimu.

"Gargos lives." Jago replied. Orchid dropped her smile.

"What?" She knew what that meant. Gargos, the astral demon lord, had once again worked his way into the world. And once again, one of his conduits was Jago.

The last time Jago had that problem, things got bad. He couldn't control it, and allowed it to take over him. Orchid didn't like to remember it. It was only thanks to the sorcerer Kan-Ra that Jago was able to overcome the curse within. But now, Kan-Ra was locked up in an Ultratech prison. And given Orchid's early departure, it was highly likely that security had been given an upgrade.

"So that means..." Orchid remembered Jago explaining it to her once before. He couldn't shut out Gargos completely, otherwise he would be consumed. Fighting was the way to appease the demon, and keep a balance. But that only worked for so long. The demon would demand more powerful opponents as time went on, and eventually, he would be consumed.

His only hope was to find an opponent equal to him. Not too powerful that they obliterated him in seconds, and not too weak. If he could find someone who could give him the fight of his life, he could shut off Gargos once and for all.

Orchid looked over to see Tank take out his staff and use 'Sekhmet's Vigor' to heal the Shrine Maiden.

"There." He said. "That should do it. Too bad there doesn't seem to be a Max Ammo around here."

"A what?" TJ questioned. "I'm more concerned about the Green X's." Reimu spoke up.

"Green X's?" Marisa raised an eyebrow. "And you accuse me of lying."

Reimu shook her head. "No, before I fought..." "Jago." Glacius informed her. "...I saw a Green X. I'm sure that he did too." Jago nodded. "Green X's? When did that happen?" Tank asked. "Maybe Ultratech has a hand in it. That's always likely." Glacius suggeted.

"No." Jago spoke. "It was not."

"Then who was it?" Orchid asked.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 'ERE WE ARE!" The voice thundered.

"Not him." Jago answered.

The group looked up to see a squad of Ultratech Fulgore and Riptor units heading towards them. But there was one character that stood out. A skeleton. He was the one doing all the yelling. He had a cutlass and shield to top it all off, surrounded by killer robots and dinosaurs. He wasn't wearing much, not that he had anything to hide. He had a red bandana, and that was pretty much it. The KI combatants recognized him as the skeletal pirate Spinal.

"Well, well, well!" He cackled. "If it isn't the members of the Alliance!"

"You were part of that too!" TJ countered. "Jago, Orchid, Glacius AND TJ Combo! A four in one!" He cackled again. "I see we have some outside help as well." He said, observing the others.

"Well, either way, you're all coming with me, back to Ultratech!" He cackled again, as the other units readied for attack around him.

The group looked around. "I guess we're gonna have to set aside our differences here." Tank realized, taking the staff in his hands and pointing it at the Ultratech squadron. Reimu had her Purification Rod and enough Ofuda to take down all Youkai in existence, while Marisa had her broom at the ready. Orchid raised her Twin Tonfa sticks, while Jago took out his sword. TJ Combo threw a few practise jabs while Glacius turned his arm into an ice lance.

"ATTACK!" Spinal yelled. The two groups charged towards each other, ready to decimate the other.

"Stop!"

A blinding flash of light.

"Huh?" Marisa looked up at their 'saviour'.

A lady. She was seemingly floating in mid air.

She faced them, giving the group a full view of her. She had purple eyes and long pale green hair tied back in a high ponytail. She was incredibly well endowed, and her 'armour' showed that off very well. It was white and clung to her skin like a frightened child clinging to a mother. It took the form of two gaunltets and boots on her arms and legs, and covered the bare essentials everywhere else. You could clearly see her massive bust, with the armour just about covering her nipples so her game could somehow escape with a PEGI 12 rating. She also had the most bizzare lance any of them had ever seen. It was black, with a green blade on top.

Smiling, she turned to the Ultratech squadron, seeing Spinal getting ready to use his shield.

With one slash, she demolished the entire squadron. Only a shocked Spinal remained. "I-egh-I'll be back!" He huffed before storming off, away from the Hakurei Shrine.

Reimu thanked her. "I've gotta ask though, who are you?" The lady laughed, just reaching ground level. "I am Green Heart. Goddess of Microsoft." There was some confusion as to what that meant, but the group still listened. "What's that supposed to mean?" Tank asked. "It means I'm here to help you set everything right in this world."

"You mean, taking down Ultratech?" Orchid suggested. "Naturally that's a big part to it. But there's more to it. You see, it's a long story, but you have been recruited for a team known as the Microsoft Elite. There's about sixty of you, all recruited for the same task."

"Well, where are they, then?" TJ asked. "That's where it gets tricky." Green Heart explained. "I'm currently involved in a war with a being known as Cortana. She seeks to manipulate any Microsoft Elite she finds and make them carry out tasks on her own behalf. But not if I have anything to say about it!"

* * *

"So hang on then. This isn't a real world?" Chief tried to comprehend what Cortana had said. "I cannot believe such tripe." Marius agreed. "No. This world is real alright, just way different to the other world we know of."

"Fine. So then how about what happens next? We're only here because we were popular in that world?"

"Yes. You are chosen based primarily on popularity in 'The Consumer World'."

"Man." Doomguy was having trouble understanding. "So people thought my ass kicking was good enough for a video game?"

"One of the most revolutionary games of all time, in fact. Also one of the best and most iconic." Cortana added.

Doomguy pumped his fist. "Alright! I'm a badass!"

"One last thing. Do not trust anyone who associates with a Goddess named Green Heart."

 ** _Author's Note_**

Soooooo, I've got a lot to get to.

First off, Spinal. I can't play as him, I'm not that good at KI (on the SNES, anyway.) so he's out of my reach. But as for his character and my inspirations for it, I'm thankfully given a lot of free roam due to him being completely insane. So what's the inspiration? I don't know how many of you ever read a Tintin comic (or saw the movie) but basically, an insane Captain Haddock is something I wanted to do.

The machines Marisa finds are Perk-a-Colas, which are again from COD Zombies (Expect that a lot) and they're basically drinks which make your chances of survival better (Reload faster, take more damage, be more accurate, etc.) and I'll get into more detail about that later.

More Touhou characters will be showing up, just not right now, and I'll probably bring some scenes back to the Hakurei Shrine.

About Jago and Reimu, I have a lot to get to also. After writing War of the Playstation, one thing I wanted to do more of is incorporate the different battle system into the plot, and so when I had the idea for fatalities to be included, I knew I had something to work with. What I did, you'll see in the next chapter.

Speaking more about Jago, he's still possessed by Gargos, yes. That's another thing I'll explain.

Finally, the conflict between Cortana and Green Heart. For those of you who don't know, Green Heart is the Goddess of Leanbox (Microsoft) in Hyperdimension Neptunia, which I'd recommend if you like RPG's.

As for where Cortana came from, most people will say Halo, but that's only justification for having her talk to Chief. But basically, if I had known HDN was a thing, I probably would've used the Goddesses in place of...well, I guess I have to call them something, so let's say, creators. There we go. On my way to a cinematic universe already.

But basically, I had Ken Kutaragi be the Playstation rep. because I had no idea what I was doing, but then I started to work my way around it. Then when I came to Microsoft, I said to myself 'Hey, isn't Cortana like, part of the OS for Windows or something? That could work!'

But don't think that makes her the good guy here.

On a lighter note, I just saw Youtube Rewind. I managed to get over the disappointing abscence of Robbie Rotten, Filthy Frank, IHE and Alex Jones and the bizzare inclusion of James Corden from last years miserable shit fest, I must say...it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

It wasn't great, the usual strange inclusions were there (Jake Paul and Stephen Colbert) but it wasn't without it's merit, and I did laugh a little once or twice. Inclusions I recognized (AND approved of were Phillip DeFranco, KSI, Matthew Santoro, Roadman Shaq, and Poppy! There were some things that were actually from 2017 that people remember (1000 Degree glowing knife, Fidget Spinners, and The Floor is Lava challenge, the last one got two laughs out of me.).

So overall, I think it was middle of the road, y'know, the pandering to kids kind of thing being a dampener, but there were glimpses of what Youtube is actually like, and not just the trending page.


	3. Origins

The crunching of leaves underfoot was the only sound the man had heard in quite some time, and it never got any more unnerving.

He was a pale skinned man, who had short black hair that was neatly combed, as well as a moustache. In his blood soaked hands, he held an MP40 sub machine gun, commonly used by Nazi troops during the second World War. But this one wasn't so commonly used. In fact, it wasn't used at all during the second World War. This one was glowing a bright sky blue in his hands, providing him with enough light to see where he was going.

The man wore very basic pants, but his torso was covered in more things than a christmas tree. On his front, he had a jacket which he kept a special kind of fragmentation grenade in, as well as some gumballs. But these weren't ordinary gumballs that he just liked the taste of, but he would never say why he kept them. In addition, he had a pouch across his chest which he kept his rather large 'Bowie Knife' in. He also had a belt which he used for more storage, including a satchel which had three seemingly alien devices inside, all rather bulky in size. On his belt, he kept another weapon which glowed a bright sky blue, with red energy beams across the top of it. A relatively small weapon, but an effective one, nonetheless. On his back, he kept an MG42, another german engineered weapon, this one a chrome colour with red designs engraved in it. His favourite weapon was on his back also. It was completely golden, aside from the electricity that coursed through it. There were wires running along the bottom of it, three sources of electricity on the side and a switch near the front. The Wunderwaffe DG-2. But that wasn't all. He also had a staff on his back. It had a glowing purple gem on the head, and occasionally sparking. Much like the gumballs in his pockets, he would not say what the function of the staff was.

He was a troubled man psychologically, due to a number of factors that couldn't be explained so easily to anyone, and the last surviving member of a scientific group that could conquer nations. He was Dr. Edward Richtofen.

"How did I get myself into this mess?" He wondered as he wandered through the forest.

The forest fog was most certainly unnerving to the Doctor. The tall and slender trees added to the atmosphere, as a thick fog obscured everything from the waist down.

He usually had the other three with him, consisting of Tank Dempsey, the American spy, Nikolai Belenski, the Russian revolutionary exiled from his homeland, and Takeo Masaki, a noble servant of Japan, the last in a line of samurai.

But at long last, it seemed Richtofen's search for civilization had come to an end. Through the fog, he could make out some stone structures. But that was hardly reassuring. What if this place was infested with undead as well? Oh no. What if the people there tried to kill him? No. He needed to calm down. He was in a sticky situation, but he would make his way out.

Arriving in the village, Richtofen soon noticed that there was no one there. "Scheiß." He muttered under his breath. Walking further into the village, the fog started to clear as he neared an old shrine. It was obviously very old, with vegetation growing on it and several chunks being taken out of it.

It had also been recently vandalized. There were chunks torn out of the foundations of the shrine with claws, evident from the scratch marks in some of the wood beams.

Maybe it was that man...ah! Another person! There was a man lying face down on the ground nearby, sprawled out. Richtofen rushed over to his side. "Hello?" He turned the man over, and jumped when he saw what was on the other side. The man's face was frozen in a look of horror, like he had seen a ghost, and his body was cold. But he was at least still breathing. Whatever he had encountered obviously didn't finish the job.

"I see no claws or sharp objects." Richtofen mused as he frisked the man. "This could not have been his work. Nor the work of the Shadowman."

Richtofen turned back to the shrine just in time. As he looked at the shrine gate, a green flicker started to grow. Brighter and brighter. Richtofen covered his eyes as a blinding flash of light shot out from the gate, opening them again to see what had happened. He wished he hadn't.

There was a woman standing there. Immediately, Richtofen noticed her unnatural stance. Her legs seemed just off, while she was hunched over enough to seemingly lick her own back if she wanted to. Her deathly pale skin was another obvious feature, as well as the stringy black hair which obscured her face. She wore a torn red kimono, and held in her hand a long weapon. Something she also seemed to use as a crutch, but a weapon Takeo had told him about once before.

The spirit brought down her weapon with Richtofen barely able to get the Wunderwaffe up in time to block it.

That created an 'X' shape.

All of a sudden, a bright green 'X' illuminated through the two weapons, blinding Richtofen.

* * *

Dr. West had finally gotten back to his manor, free to conduct his experiments once more without a mask wearing maniac to break in and tear off his arms again.

Right now, his latest work involved recreating a species of beast he had never seen before. Right now, the beast was unconscious, submerged in a green liquid.

It was a complete success, having all its physical traits perfectly preserved, but there was just one problem. He had to program it, but it operated off a human brain. The most complex of all supercomputers was not something that could easily be programmed however, and so West had to start from the ground up, implementing a sense of loyalty to him in the creature.

Now where were those damn schematics? West left the room to go in search of them, leaving the now docile test subject in the tube.

But what West didn't know was that the Nemesis wasn't alone in the room. The other occupant dropped down from the ceiling, now safely knowing the coast was clear.

It was a girl. She was quite small, with big blue eyes and black hair, wearing nothing but a short white dress. A girl named Saya.

The girl observed from a distance, seeing the creature floating in the test tube. What a beast. Somehow, she felt a connection to the it.

She walked over to the controls and looked around for the right button. Fortunately, the big one labeled "Release" wasn't too hard to find.

Pressing it, Saya watched as the tube emptied of its liquid, and gently lowered the beast onto his feet.

Saya was amazed. The creature was massive. Bigger than any man she had ever met, with a strange, discoloured skin, and one grotesque looking eye, while the other one appeared to be stitched over. He wore some form of suit with pipes going everywhere, and a rocket launcher on his back. It reminded her of...herself.

Slowly, he awoke.

"Stars..." He mumbled.

"Stars." He repeated, walking forward towards Saya.

"Stars! STAAARS!" He bellowed. Saya panicked and quickly reverted to her original form, hoping to scare him off. Nemesis stopped for a moment and looked up. It appeared to have worked, but Nemesis simply sneered and went on his way, walking down the hallways, looking for his precious 'stars'.

Intrigued, and slightly offended, Saya followed him in her human form, hoping to learn more about the strange creature.

* * *

When Richtofen opened his eyes, the lanscape had changed. It felt like his field of movement had been narrowed considerably, not that it mattered. The shrine was still there, but the man was nowhere to be seen.

The onryo was crawling unnaturally towards him, occasionally jittering and teleporting forward.

Then she disappeared.

Richtofen fell backwards as she then reappeared in front of him, uttering a single sentence.

"Watashi wa anata o musaborudarou." Richtofen immediately recognized the dialect as Japanese, thanks to Takeo. They were obviously hostile. Richtofen would have liked to apologize and be on his way, but the wraith didn't appear to be taking no for an answer.

So be it. He would have to stand up for himself.

Getting to his feet, Richtofen reached for his trusty MP40. "I mean you no harm; But I will not let you halt my progress!"

Richtofen thought he was finished. But he looked down at his body and saw nothing wrong. Feeling around for any wounds, he noticed there were none. "What...?" Richtofen was then cut off by Hisako charging forward for another attack which prompted him to bring up his Zombie Shield in defence.

But that was another thing. He didn't have a Zombie Shield on him before he entered this weird limbo. Never mind. He quickly put away the shield and fired the MP40 at Hisako, scoring some direct hits before running out.

But just as the slash from Hisako didn't affect Richtofen, his Mauser had seemingly been rendered ineffective. They caused the onryõ to stumble backwards, sure, but she should have been lined with holes.

Hisako lunged back in, slashing furiously at Richtofen, dealing some good damage and hurting the doctor. As he fell to the ground, he noticed how much those slashes had taken out of him. Now he realized what was going on. The weapons hadn't lost their damage capabilities, but they could not kill. Interesting.

So now he understood. Hopefully it wasn't too late. As the ghost lunged in for another high slash, Richtofen slid underneath the attack and used a sickle to hook her into the air, then firing his MP40 at the ghost. It worked, causing the ghost to stagger backwards. An excellent start, but the Doctor needed to reload. Reaching for a clip, he was caught off guard by the ghost attacking from behind and then attempting to follow up with a flurry of slashes and stabs before dumping Richtofen onto the ground.

The doctor picked himself up and quickly brought up the Zombie Shield to block the next attack before using it to bash the ghost in the head. The ghost reeled backwards, allowing Richtofen to get in close and follow up with his own series of slashes and stabs, eventually getting enough damage done to feel something go off inside of him. What was that? He didn't know...but at the same time, it felt like he did. So strange.

He was getting visions. They were a translucent green colour, of him tossing a Gersch Device at the ghost. The vision showed the bizzare device working, but it didn't kill the ghost. Obviously, it wasn't good enough. He needed more.

He quickly got his guard up once more, the zombie shield blocking most of the attacks. But there was always that problem. He had no way of switching weapon, if only...

there was another green vision. It showed him using the Mystery Box to cycle through a limited selection of weapons. That would certainly be useful. Richtofen concentrated, and sure enough, the box popped up and started to spin. It landed on a shotgun, the SPAS-12. Richtofen picked it up just as the shield came down, but could not protect against the onslaught of attacks from Hisako.

She must have scored at least 20 hits before Richtofen had a moment to attack. While Hisako was gearing up for the 21st attack, Richtofen acted on his own, independent from the visions. As the spirit charged towards him in the air, Richtofen grabbed her and allowed the two to fall to the ground. The two exploded, just as Richtofen had hoped. "Thankfully I still have those drinks to help me." He muttered.

Now he was having visions of freezing the ghost. It was an excellent idea, but Richtofen knew he could do much better. Just a little longer though, he could feel it.

He shot the ghost three times with his new shotgun and followed up by throwing a grenade, then giving a series of slashes with the Bowie Knife before hooking the ghost into the air and firing another shotgun blast. That felt great, he just needed a few more seconds.

Hisako lunged at him again, attempting to bite him, knowing how dangerously close he was to losing his energy to fight. But she forgot the grenade, as it blew up behind her, allowing Richtofen to get up, feeling another sensation.

Richtofen finally had it. The move he needed to finish the fight. He knew it. He concentrated for the moment necessary and activated it.

Richtofen smiled at the familiar sight of the Wunderwaffe DG-2 in his hands, flicking the switch on the side of the gun before turning to the dazed spirit. "As I said before," Richtofen took aim. "I won't be stopped by you!" The blast flew out of the gun, much faster than the wraith could react, sending her into a spasming fit as the electricity coursed through her nonexistant veins.

Once the blast died down, she could no longer stand, though she felt compelled to hold onto her Nanigata for whatever reason. Richtofen couldn't believe what he was seeing, an opportunity too good to be passed up. Take out the ghost for good.

Or just subdue it. After all, Richtofen had tresspassed on her sacred ground, making him the aggressor. This spirit was capable of far too much to be involved in any sinister plans which he knew of.

Then that settled it. He'd have to subdue her. He opted to use his Galvaknuckles, delivering one quick punch to her gut that made her fall backwards, arms outstretched.

That was it. Richtofen felt the world around him fade back to reality, away from the seperate realm of the ghost. It must have been one of her powers, explaining how that poor man was knocked out.

He would at least wait for the man to come around before leaving, and maybe then he would get some answers.

He did have a lot of questions, to be fair.

Richtofen remembered it like yesterday, when he thought all his work had been done. He and three other men, Tank Dempsey, Takeo Masaki and Nikolai Belinski were summoned by him. He, was a God. The last God. A man who looked quite similar to the Shadowman, with the only difference being the red scarf he wore around his neck. Someone the three had come to know as Dr. Monty.

* * *

"What is happening, Monty?" Richtofen questioned. "Our friend, the Shadowman. He's not...quite as dead as we imagined he was."

"So our endeavour was for nothing." Takeo sighed. "Not exactly." Monty corrected him. "But he is back. Long story short, he also wants us all dead, so," He clapped his hands together. "I'm going to have to send you back to the dig site."

"We require the staffs, I presume." Nikolai suggested. "Exactly. But be advised. My powers have been severely diminished by that bastard's return, so you're going to have to do things yourself once you arrive back in your dimension."

Before any of them could object, Monty clicked his fingers, and all of a sudden, the four found themselves back at Excavation Site 64.

The first world war was never so nostalgic. It was the place where the four first met, after all. The whole operation was set up by Group 935 of the German Army, trying to harness ancient power buried for centuries.

But they unearthed...something else. It enabled them to create machines to power the site, giant robots to patrol it, and beverages to make them better soldiers. But it also had...darker properties.

The site was split up into three sections, the trenches, where the robots named Thor patrolled. There were two paths to take towards a bunker which took you to the middle section. Code named 'No man's land', patrolled by the gianr robot, Odin. It was where the undead first appeared. Where Group 935 tried to harness the ancient powers.

The third section was called 'the Church' for obvious reasons. It was patrolled by the robot named Freya. Underneath the church, there was a tank. It could be used to ride around the excavation site with ease, and that was something they were going to need.

Between the tight spaces in the trenches to the debilitating mud in the open field, maneuverability was of utmost importance if they wanted to survive, let alone retrieve the staffs, something not even Group 935 could do.

"The Shadowman will be throwing everything at you. And I mean everything. Fortunately for you lot, I'm feeling pretty generous as well. The best weapons from your travels will be available from the mystery box, not just limited to location or era. All Perk-a-Cola machines can be found in the area, Gobblegums if you need them, basically, if you fuck this up, it's not my fault." Dr. Monty explained.

Wait, was that a bell? What for? It wasn't the church, that was for sure. Then a guitar? A song? They had music to work to. Great.

The undead started to pour through, while Richtofen set about getting to the conversion generators. The first one was in the same room as them, making it easy to turn on and activate, defending it from purple eyed crusader zombies.

Richtofen went over to the nearest door, the one which lead out to Generator 2. He was certain he had enough points for the door, but he found to his surprise it had already been opened. "Another aid from Monty?" Richtofen questioned.

"The other path is open also." Takeo added, he and Nikolai standing at the other doorway. "We no longer need to spend money on clearing paths then. Perhaps so we can obtain the necessary weapons for survival with ease." Nikolai suggested.

"Well then," Tank reloaded his Remington. "We need to get going."

The hordes were unrelenting as the four advanced into the trenches, with the rain pouring down on them. Nikolai fired the Olympia in front of the group as Takeo lead the way to Generator 2.

 ** _Lets take a moment and break the ice_**

After a grenade devastated the zombie population of a nearby bunker, Nikolai noticed two things. The Mystery Box, and a blue disc. The song of the Ice Chamber.

 ** _So my intentions are known_**

Generator 2 was active as Tank and Richtofen made their way through the trenches to a bunker. Inside, they ran up a flight of stairs and out into the last stretch of trench before appearing in the open field. They could see the nearby Church, devastated by aerial attack. Speaking of which, they could still see planes firing overhead, one of them glowing orange. Tank shot the plane down with one precise shot and the orange glow fell from the sky.

 ** _See I pity in watching you suffer_**

Takeo used his katana, the Blade of Sorrows, to lead the way to Generator 3. There was a rock tomb like object there, with blue questions marks on the front. The Mystery Box, as they had come to know it. Once it was activated, Nikolai opened it and it went through a cycle of weapons before landing on a familiar weapon.

One that was red in design, with blue bars on the top, except for the back section which had a heat gauge that never left the green section. It was designed like a sci-fi weapon, unlike any of the other weapons inside the box. The Ray Gun. Nikolai took the weapon before the box closed and looked across from the generator.

 ** _I know the feeling of feeling of being damned alone_**

The robot approached. Nikolai could see the glowing footprint.

 ** _I got a storybook of my own_**

He ran into the path of the robot, just as the foot was overhead, and shot it. The foot opened up and came down on Nikolai, sending him straight through to the head. He saw the glowing staff part and quickly grabbed it, and exited the robot.

 ** _Don't you see I am your pride_**

Tank had already found the songs of both the Wind Staff and the Lightning Staff, as well as a part of the Fire Staff which he shot off the plane. Right now, he had just powered on Generator 4 while Richtofen ran up to the mound where the undead were first seen. He already had one song, one that would open the main chamber.

 ** _Agent of wealth_**

He found a Gramophone outside the chamber and quickly played the song. One zombie got too close for comfort though, and Richtofen had to kick him down. Once the chamber was opened though, he got creative, taking the record and throwing it at the creature's head, killing it.

He could hear more gunfire coming from above. Nikolai and Takeo. He took advantage of the confusion and rushed upstairs, taking the Gramophone and running over to the Gobblegum machine. He was hoping for something quick.

His prayers were answered as an orange gumball came out. Perkaholic. Richtofen's favourite, giving him the effects of all perk a colas without any of the bad taste.

 ** _Bearer of needs_**

The Shadowman's trump card, a suit operator who became infected during the initial outbreak, a tank destroying beast known as the Panzer Soldat, was ironically crushed by an even more ironic situation of Tank on a tank.

Tank tanking a tank crusher on a tank. Rolls right off your tongue. He didn't have time to applaud himself for that though, as the tank passed by the main chamber. Tank jumped off, seeing a glowing purple staff piece. The last of the wind staff pieces.

 ** _And you know it's right_**

 ** _I am your war_**

He then got back to ground level, where he picked up another staff piece, one of fire which the Panzer had. He also saw a glowing blue dig spot sticking out of the ground. Tank dusted it off and grabbed the Ice Staff shard.

 ** _Arming the strong_**

Behind the church Nikolai and Takeo had just powered up the last of the generators and had picked up the last of the Ice and Wind staff pieces.

 ** _Aiding the weak_**

Takeo nabbed the final Fire Staff piece from the opening chest behind the generator, and also found a gun to use. A glowing blue gun and everything. Pack-a-Punched as he had come to know it. Speaking of which, the machine should have been ready to go by that point. Better head back to Richtofen and Dempsey. Nikolai grabbed one more thing from the chest, and then the two moved on.

 ** _Know me by nam_** ** _e_**

Richtofen lead the group to another chamber, one in Odin's patrol route. Placing the gramophone down on a nearby table he played a song to open the chamber. They barely got in, but they had made it to the Crazy Place.

 ** _Shepherd of fire_**

The Crazy Place was crazy. Divideded into four subsections for each of the elemental staffs with swirls and patterns all over the rocks there.

There were four holders for four crystals there, and they all knew which staff they were choosing

Tank nabbed the Wind Crystal from its holder.

Nikolai snatched the Ice Crystal.

Takeo took the Fire Crystal, and then Richtofen took the Lightning Crystal.

With that, they left, but were sure to return.

Before going back to the chamber, they used the Pack-a-Punch machine atop the mound. Tank upgraded his MG08, Nikolai his Ray Gun and Richtofen his MP40, giving them the same blue design of Takeo's Lamentation.

 ** _Well I can promise you paradise_**

Once they arrived back at the pedestals, Richtofen set about building the staffs, while the other three killed zombies. Tank mowed down the hordes with his new 'Magna Collider', while Takeo used his 'Lamentation' to keep them at bay.

 ** _No need to serve on your knees_**

Nikolai used the technique he had received from the chest, the One Inch Punch. With just his fist, he could strike with the force of a thousand men.

Richtofen completed the staffs and each man took his staff from its pedestal, and they made their way back to the other chamber, killing the undead as they went.

 ** _And when you're lost in the darkest of hours_**

 ** _Take a moment and tell me who you see_**

 ** _Won't tell ya who not to be_**

The four arrived back in the Crazy Place, knowing what the had to do. They needed to complete rituals specific to their staff in order to achieve its full potential.

Soon, the first part of that was complete for every one of them.

 ** _Now you know I am your pride_**

They were completed back in the trenches too. All that was left was one last trip to the Crazy Place.

 ** _Agent of wealth_**

Upon arriving, they noted that the holders had expanded to accomodate the staffs they were supposed to hold. Once the staffs were placed, the four knew what was next, as they got to loading their guns.

 ** _Bearer of needs_**

 ** _And you know it's right_** ** _)_**

"Now. They need sacrifices to reach their full power, don't they? Get killing!" Monty hadn't even finished before the four had moved on, filling up the quota at an amazing pace.

 ** _I am your war_**

Tank Dempsey grabbed the Staff of Wind as it was the first to be completed. Pleased with the weapon, he let the zombies feel its might as more souls gathered at the other staffs.

 ** _Arming the strong_**

The second of the Staffs was complete. Nikolai grabbed the Staff of Ice and began firing, halting the undead in their tracks.

 ** _Aiding the weak_**

More souls had gathered as the Staff of Fire was completed. Takeo grabbed his new weapon and began to burn the masses.

 ** _Know me by name_**

The last staff had been completed. Grabbing the Staff of Lightning, Richtofen made his way to the portal, as did the other three. They made their way out of the chamber, not wanting to get caught.

 ** _Shepherd of fire_**

The wave had halted. It was the seconds before the next one came, and the four stood back to back in the centre of the tank's patrol route.

Tank Dempsey, the man who knew no fear. Boreas' Fury, the Staff of Wind, was his weapon. It represented might. The might of his nation, his cause, and above all, himself. Might, which when placed in the hands of someone like him, could be stopped by none.

 ** _Disciple of the cross and champion in suffering_**

Nikolai Belinski, the hero with the strength of one hundred men. Ull's Arrow, the Staff of Ice, was his weapon. As cold as a Siberian winter, the staff represented the toughness of Nikolai, and of Russia. To endure so much for the motherland, and to continue to do so, many would have been unable to wield a weapon like it. But Nikolai's willpower was enough. No punishment was tough enough to stop him doing the right thing.

 ** _Immerse yourself into the kingdom of redemption_**

Takeo Masaki, the samurai with the grace of a hawk in flight. Kagutsuchi's Blood, the Staff of Fire, was his weapon. It represented his burning passion, the flames which were as bright as the Land of the Rising Sun. Flames which the whole world could see and feel, only matched by the flames of Takeo's soul, which burned as brightly as his ability. None could match his skill as a warrior.

 ** _Pardon your mind through the chains of the divine_**

Dr. Edward Richtofen, the German mastermind. Kimat's Bite, the Staff of Lightning, was his weapon. Electricity, sparking like his genius. When people saw electricity, they associate it with technology. His technology. His intellect. All weapons, the Giants, the Ray Guns, the Generators, Perk-a-Colas, all the mark of his genius, which would shock and amaze all who witnessed it. He might not have had the strength, the willpower or the skill of the others. But not one person could compare to his intellect.

 ** _Make way, the shepherd of fire_**

They could see the undead coming from all angles, crawling through barbed wire, trudging through the mud, sprinting across the walkways. Yet it failed to unnerve any of them as their grips tightened on the holy weapons.

 ** _Through the ages of time_**

"Now what do we do?" Nikolai asked. "I thought it was obvious." Takeo responded. "We repel the demons, like we always do."

 ** _I've been known for my hate_**

"Remember boys," Dr. Monty reminded them. "Every journey begins with a step. This is step one."

 ** _But I'm a dealer of simple choices_**

The four raised their staffs into the air, allowing them to glow in their respective colours, shining out as a beacon of hope in a world consumed by darkness. They would never stop fighting, and now was no exception.

 ** _For me it's never too late_**

The undead began to attack.

 ** _I am your pride_**

But the counter was equally as brutal. Takeo fired the Staff of Fire, creating a lava pool in front of him that consumed the zombies as they ran through it, thinning the horde. He managed to catch one zombie rushing in from the side, and used the bladed edge of the staff to decapitate it.

 ** _Agent of wealth_**

 ** _Bearer of needs_**

Tank fired the Staff of Wind, blowing back the first wave of undead, before creating a tornado which tore the rest limb from limb in an amazing spectacle. He even rushed in, using the Staff as a melee weapon, sweeping a zombie off of its feet with the blunt end and stabbing it through the chest with the blade edge.

 ** _And you know it's right_**

Nikolai fired a blast of ice from his staff, slowing down the nearest zombies before creating a fearsome blizzard, causing the other zombies to freeze dead in their tracks. All that was left to do was to use his staff as a blunt weapon to shatter the sculptures where they stood.

 ** _'Cause I am your war_**

 ** _Arming the strong_**

 ** _Aiding the weak_**

Richtofen fired a blast of lightning from his staff, a giant ball flying out and electrocuting everything in sight. It felt...good. It gave him power, and made him feel confident.

 ** _I am your wrath_**

 ** _I am your guilt_**

 ** _I am your lust_**

 ** _(And you know it's right)_**

Tank threw a Cymbal Monkey, and with the singing time bomb managing to attract the attention of the corpses, buying ample time to deliver the decisive blow.

 ** _I am your love_**

 ** _I am your stall_**

 ** _I am your trust_**

"Quick, over here!" Tank signalled. The other three got the message and began to charge up their staffs once more. Once the bomb detonated, it was too late for the undead.

"NOW!" Tank yelled.

 ** _Know me by name_**

The undead were decimated by the onslaught of elemental power. The once mighty horde had been reduced to a pile of rotting flesh within the space of an hour, and it was glorious.

 ** _Shepherd of fire_**

With that, things calmed down. The group finally had a chance to rest for a while.

The undead stopped. Maybe they had given up?

"Hey, what gives?" Tank asked. "Is that all of 'em?"

"It appears the Shadowman has given up this fight. I think the clever bastard knows where you have to go next." Monty explained.

"Where to now, Doc?" Tank asked. "You must head to The Giant."

"You mean that old factory?" Richtofen nodded. "There we can find the teleporter, und then we have a fighting chance at setting things right once again." Monty nodded, confirming Richtofen's answer.

"That is quite the journey." Nikolai commented. "We must be going then."

Without another word, the group moved on, making the journey from Meuse to Silesia, step by step.

* * *

Richtofen snapped out of his flashback, taking a moment to look at his staff. It was truly one of the most important things in the world to him right now. But not the most important. That was something far more powerful.

 ** _Author's Note_**

Well, this chapter took a while. So I'm going to have these little flashbacks, not just for Richtofen, but for other characters too, explaining non canon game events that have occured between thwir most recent game and this fanfic.

There was supposed to be more here, but there's some pretty bad lag at the moment, so this is gonna have to do.

Until Next Time!


	4. Gaining Momentum

They had chosen an abandoned military base as their hideout. It worked very well, as Cortana was able to remotely operate the base, locking the doors, controlling the security systems, everything.

There were some courtyards outside which were guarded by an electric fence that was about three stories high. The entire place was covered in snow, freezing cold weather, and that was why it was perfect. No one would look here.

Marius appeared to show the most initiative of the group, even in spite of his clear technological disadvantages.

"Alright, I'm listening." Kameo spoke up. "Why are we all here?"

"Didn't you hear?" Marcus Fenix spoke up. "This is our base."

"Well then, are we waiting for an assignment or what?" Kaim questioned, growing bored with having nothing to do.

"We must learn to work as a team." A voice spoke up. It was Death's Hand.

None of the other Elite really knew what to think of Death's Hand. He was quiet. Never really said much.

He had a chinese accent, and he looked like he escaped from the Ming Dynasty. The armour he wore was a mixture of orange and black, with the black making up the majority of the armour and the orange making up the designs on it. As you might have guessed, many of the designs were dragons. The armour completely obscured any part of his skin from touching sunlight, adding a sense of mystery to the man.

"We have been given a chance to prove our greatness," He continued. Shep rolled her eyes. "and we must take that as a unit."

They were ceratinly surprised at the level of leadership being shown, but that still left the question, where was _the_ leader?

* * *

"What happened Killer Instinct?" Glacius was the one who raised the question. "I heard they had a tournament."

"With us out of the picture. They wanted to show off their latest toy to the world." Orchid confirmed. "In fact...I think we might have our answer here." She brought up a video on her wrist communicator. TJ, Jago and Glacius all huddled around the screen to see what was going on, expecting to see Fulgore almost kill someone who wasn't in the same league as him.

"The highlights for the surprise contender...a heavyweight champion." His name was still a mystery. But his appearance, not so much. A muscular African American man, wearing a sleeveless hood and golden chains around his neck. Obviously, he was quite the personality.

But TJ's attention went elsewhere. His hands. He was wearing boxing gloves. "Hey, this guy's a pugilist too." Glacius commented.

TJ and the other Killer Instinct participants watched the screen as the boxer wrestled with an equally muscular man wearing a hockey mask, with no shirt, only shorts and sneakers.

'Hockey Mask' threw a punch which the boxer ducked to avoid it and threw a punch at his torso, causing a deafening crack noise. Hockey Mask howled and stepped back as the boxer threw an ill advised punch and allowed Hockey Mask to open things up with a neat one-two and a roundhouse kick to the gut, sending the boxer flying into the nearest wall. Rushing over, Hockey Mask grabbed a 2 by 4 and attempted to cave his skull in. The boxer, however, anticipated as much and shattered the weapon with one punch. He then elbowed another oncoming punch out of the way as Hockey Mask started to go wild, launching punch after punch to his head with the boxer barely having enough time to get his guard up.

It seemed as though Hockey Mask had it, at least, that's what TJ thought. But out of nowhere, the boxer launched a bullet of a headbutt, colliding with Hockey Mask's head and sending the beast sprawling to the floor, unmoving. A dirty move, even by KI standards. TJ didn't like it, but he couldn't deny that it was an effective tactic. It obviously won him the match too, as the crowds cheered for the Round of 16 victor.

In the quarter finals, he faced off against Riptor. The boxer earned a little bit of respect from Orchid, as he beat up the Ultratech goon so badly he knocked it back into the Jurassic period.

The semi finals were more of the same. The boxer came up against a ninja, who had light brown hair and a long sword which she decided against using. A big mistake.

The ninja could teleport, they soon learned as she danced around the boxer, landing plenty of kicks from just outside his range, narrowly avoiding his wild swings.

But that only worked for so long. While teleporting behind him for another kick, the ninja was taken off guard by an elbow to her head, catching her by surprise and drawing blood. All of a sudden, the tables had turned, with the boxer only seconds away from a crushing victory. He followed the elbow with a right hook, then a left, and another right, drawing more and more blood on each hit, finishing the fight with a brutal uppercut that sent her flying several feet across.

She was badly beaten. The boxer had won, but he didn't celebrate. He simply grunted at the unconcious and possibly dead ninja before leaving the arena.

TJ knew that style of boxing. Straight forward, hard hitting, slow moving, tanking hits, slugger style boxing. TJ faced a lot of them back in his day, and he typically did quite well against them.

But that wasn't important. What was, was the entrance of Fulgore to the Killer Instinct arena. The boxer growled at the machine, with a crazy look in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to tear Fulgore to pieces and piss on the pieces.

The match wasn't even close. Fulgore managed to scratch him maybe once or twice during the whole match as the boxer just pummeled him, punch after punch making it harder for Fulgore to even keep his footing. A resounding victory for the boxer.

"...since then, Killer Instinct champ Balrog has gone missing..."

"Hmm. Well, he most certainly does not lack conviction." Glacius commented.

Balrog. So that was his name. TJ would remember it.

* * *

"Hey, where'd you get that one? We haven't even arrived yet." Reimu asked. Marisa had found yet another book to 'borrow'. "I got it from the soldier. He wasn't using it." Marisa tried to defend herself, but it clearly wasn't working. Reimu would have argued, but it clearly wouldn't have worked.

"Remind me why we're here again?" Marisa asked, with her head still in the book.

"I just wanna know something, that's all." Reimu replied. "You know, in case those robots come back again."

They stood at the gate to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It was a strange and unnerving place, certainly not meant for humans. But Reimu seemed to be on good terms with the residents,

The groundskeeper, Hong Meiling, opened the gates for them. "Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame. What brings you here?" She questioned. "I just wanna see your mistress for a second or two." Reimu answered. "You've come at a bad time. You know that, right?"

"Umm, yes? That's why we came." Marisa tried to sound convincing, but she wasn't fooling anyone. "Right. Well, be my guest to walk in, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Once inside the mansion, the duo came across the head maid of the mansion, Sakuya Izayoi. She looked pretty beat up, Reimu noticed, but she also seemed pretty busy, so neither of them bothered her. Marisa hadn't so much as said a word, still reading. It was strange, as Reimu

Reimu, on the other hand, still had work to do. She eventually found the room where the mistress of the whole mansion was. Remilia Scarlet was overlooking the magnificent garden from her balcony.

"Hey, Remilia!" Reimu greeted. "Oh, Reimu! I wasn't expecting you."

"Eh, I'm not gonna be here for long anyway, so I'm gonna get to the point. Basically, there are these robots, right? Now, they came to the shrine a few days ago, and I hoped-" "I'd know something? Yes." Remilia cut her off. "They came here a few days ago too. They were lead by some guy called Cinder. Completely made of fire."

Reimu didn't remember seeing anyone like that at the shrine. But then again, Ultratech were pretty big, as Green Heart had told her. It was completely possible that Ultratech had bought out the universe's supply of Youkai and turned them all into Fulgores. Or, y'know, created things more bizarre than Spinal and Cinder. Either way.

"They put up a fight. I thought we would never get rid of them."

"So how did you?" Remilia took a deep breath. "Well...it's about Flandere. She-"

They were interrupted by an almighty 'Bang!' coming from the basement. "...that." Marisa raised an eyebrow, looking up from the book. "I thought you always had trouble with that hellspawn. What makes now so different?"

"I thought all our books were just disappearing into thin air, but things happen, don't they?"

"It's not like you have any evidence I steal from your library or anything!" Marisa countered. But before Remilia could prove otherwise, the book in Marisa's hands began to glow orange. The book started to go wild in her hands, tearing through pages like crazy to get to the page it wanted to. "What's happening?!" Marisa demanded to the book. It didn't answer. But it did stop. On a page that showed a strange looking object.

Remilia and Reimu gathered around to see what it was. "That's it! That's the thing she has!" Remilia pointed to the image.

The object in question was a golden sphere, covered in glowing blue symbols. Something called 'The Summoning Key'. There was some accompanying text as well.

 _"Ah. You have found the Summoning Key. A very powerful device indeed. I apologize for the lack of information, but you must understand that this device was not meant for humanity. If you have found the Summoning Key, it is likely that humanity is at risk once again. In which case we wish you the best of luck!"_

 _-Primis_

They had a lot of questions, but right now, they knew that it was dangerous for Flandere to hold onto that thing any longer.

"You said you got it from the soldier, yeah?" Reimu asked. "We're not giving it back, are we?"

"Marisa!"

"Alright, alright! I get it." She sighed in defeat, getting onto her broom and flying off back towards the Hakurei Shrine, while Reimu followed close behind.

* * *

Walking in the Forest of Magic, Orchid was thinking. Not about Ultratech, or Killer Instinct, not even about the strange events unfolding right before her eyes, but instead, about Jago.

Her dear little brother. Truth be told, he _did_ try to kill her when they first met, and he came pretty damn close to doing just that too, but he came to his senses and stopped himself. That was when Orchid knew something was wrong with him. Turns out, he had some intergalactic demon warlord that wanted him to turn to the dark side or whatever, and he struggled with that for a long time.

It kind of hurt her, having finally found him, only for him to then isolate himself from the outside world for so long. But that was Jago. He never spoke much. Punctilious was the word Orchid had used to describe him, and she had to look through a thesaurus to find that word. Jago did everything by the books. It didn't matter what the circumstances were, or who he was fighting, there was a way things had to be done, and that was that. He, like Orchid, trained rigourously from a young age to get the best out of his abilities.

But at the same time...it'd be nice if he opened up a little every once in a while. Maybe when they finally brought down Ultratech or something.

"Man, you ask me, I say that guy got shoved into a Fulgore bot." TJ huffed. "The boxer?" Orchid asked. "You bet. Now, I bet ya, any minute now, we're gonna get jumped by one Fulgore who's better than the rest of 'em. That's gonna be him. Like what happened Thunder's brother."

"Hey!"

TJ turned around. Low and behold. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear, eh? Balrog didn't look too happy either. At least he wasn't a Fulgore. "You TJ Combo?!" He asked. TJ nodded. "S'right. Whatcha got for me?"

Balrog got into a fighting stance. "Nothing personal. But my job says I've gotta end your life. A job from some guys called Ultratech. Ever hear of 'em?"

TJ raised an eyebrow. "You're Balrog, right?" Balrog nodded. "You won the Killer Instinct tournament, organised by Ultratech." Balrog nodded. "You've never heard of Ultratech? Or what they do?"

"Doesn't matter." Balrog dismissed it. "As long as I get paid. And right now, I'm getting paid big time for this."

Sadira dropped down from above. "Hey!" Balrog snapped. "They told me this was mine!" Sadira rolled her eyes. "You're still getting paid, dumbass." She then focused her attention to Orchid. "You and me, kitty." She taunted, being sure to show her claws. Orchid got up her tonfa sticks. "Saves me the trouble of having to hunt you down."

"Don't count on it." Sadira laughed as she backflipped further into the forest, with Orchid giving chase.

"Well, your funeral, pal." Balrog shrugged before getting ready to throw the first punch. TJ assumed a fighting position as well, getting ready to dodge a powerful swing.

But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something. A shambling man. He looked absolutely awful. But there was something unnatural about him, and TJ knew what it was. His eyes. They glowed yellow. His eyes were designed to stop the Green Lantern, by the looks of things.

"What the hell's that?" TJ demanded, pointing to the man. "Do you think I was born yesterday?!" A furious Balrog questioned.

But a gunshot was enough to make him turn around. It was Agent 47. The bald, smartly dressed assassin for hire had smoke coming out of one of his Silverballers, making it clear that he fired the shot.

"I never trusted them in the first place." he muttered before turning to TJ. "We need to find your accomplice, before they do."

"What about the paycheck?!" Balrog demanded. "Paycheck will have to wait." 47 responded. "Right now, we'll be lucky if we make it out alive."

Sadira was constantly on the ropes thanks to Orchid's relentlessly aggressive fighting style, and now, lying up against a tree, Orchid had her exactly where she needed to have her.

Orchid prepared for the kill, ready to make Sadira pay. As she walked over, she decided to taunt her victim. "Hehehe...one step closer to-" "to what?"

Orchid stopped. There was an old man in her way, appearing out of nowhere. He emenated an orange aura, and stood with his hands behind his back.

"Who the hell are you?!" She demanded. "Answer my question first."

"Flushing out Ultratech. Now, out of my way!" Orchid tried to shove him out of the way, only to have an unseen force knock her back.

"You've made some very powerful enemies, haven't you? Ultratech, Gargos...and yourself." The Shadowman chuckled. "You've spent so long trying in a futile fashion to bring down Ultratech. All those sleepless nights, all those nervous breakdowns, all that time spent training for a battle you will never live to see...your stubborness and pride have stolen your life from you."

Orchid got to her feet, anger rising. "How the fuck would you-" "Orchid, my dear, I know more about you than you yourself. I know about the demons in the voices in the back of your mind telling you to stop, I know about all the trouble you caused Ultratech and I especially know about Jago."

"Say a word about my brother, and I'll-" "Do what? Hm? You couldn't possibly hurt me if you tried. Jago is a lost cause. He's a danger to everyone around him, including himself. But I guess that's what happens when you have no family. Jago only has you-" "ENOUGH!" Orchid yelled, turning into a blazing panther and charging forward at the Shadowman.

There was a connection. The Shadowman was tackled to the ground, but remained unfazed, teleporting behind Orchid as she returned to her human form.

He laughed. "The Firecat. Of course. You haven't forgotten how to use it then."

"Hey, Orchid!" TJ Combo ran up to her, followed by Balrog and Agent 47. "We-" He stopped once he saw the Shadowman.

"Well, it appears that Mr. Garrett has discovere what lies in store." The Shadowman laughed, grabbing Sadira. "It's going to take more than a few flames to reach my level!"

With that, he was gone.

"Orchid, who was that?" TJ asked. "No idea." Orchid responded. "Well, whoever he is, he's got a lot of friends you pissed off!"

Orchid looked around and started listenting to the screaming coming from every street as people started to come out from behind the trees from every corner. But these were no ordinary people. Their skin was decaying and grey, and they wore fairly ordinary clothing.

They had yellow glowing eyes, and occasionally would snarl at the Orchid. But these ones were more than just snarlers, oh no. They were hungry, and only one thing was going to satisfy them.

"Yo, if you've still got that firecat thing, now would be great." TJ suggested. Orchid readied her Tonfa sticks. "Looks like we're working together now." 47 muttered as he loaded his Silverballers. "Don't think this changes anything!" Orchid snapped. "I'm still gonna kill you Ultratech scumbags!"

"Try not to get in my way!" Balrog grumbled.

The forest path was split from here. Without thinking, Balrog and TJ went to the right, while Orchid and 47 went left, hoping to find someone else that could help.

TJ could see Balrog's aggression on full display against the undead. While TJ also had to use his fists to put them down, Balrog did whatever he could, regardless of time or the situation. The next zombie in his way would know that, as he tried to take a swing at Balrog, only for the Crazy Buffalo to swat his arm aside and pin him up against a tree. He then grabbed a fallen tree branch and rammed it through his eye socket before moving on. TJ managed to clear the path ahead of them, killing three zombies and knocking the leg off of one. That was another thing, with the undead being more fragile than the average human. Sometimes their limbs just flew off. But before moving on, Balrog came down on its skull with his boot, smashing its head open.

Orchid had just enough to keep the zombies down for a few moments, but not enough to keep them from getting back up without wasting time. 47 narrowly avoided one zombie clawing at his leg, firing a fatal shot through its head. They were clearly having a lot of trouble, with so many of them on their backs. Orchid decided now was a perfect time to attack, commanding the Firecat to pounce on the undead, with its very touch incinerating the weakened horde.

"There it is!" She pointed to the familiar Hakurei Shrine. TJ quickly sprinted across to meet up with the duo, Balrog closely following behind.

Once they ran up the steps to the shrine gate, Green Heart was waiting for the undead. Using her lance, she decimated them all as quickly as they appeared. Just as Reimu and Marisa arrived back at the shrine as well.

Tank Dempsey emerged from the shrine, having heard familiar noises. "Hold your fire." Green Heart raised her hand. "They're gone."

"Just like that?" Tank didn't believe it. "Man, talk about strange." Then he noticed Marisa holding...the book. "Hey!" He snapped. "I was looking all over for that thing!" He snatched it off her faster than she could react. But then he realized what page it was on.

"You found that?!" Tank's eyes widened. "Where?!"

"That's a long story." Reimu brushed it off. "We hoped you'd be able to tell us what this all means." Tank studied the book for a second before closing it. "I'm sorry. That's not my forte."

"So that was for nothing?" Reimu sighed. "No. It's not _my_ forte. But I know a guy who can explain it all. All we need to do is find him."

* * *

Right now, Chief had a problem.

"I don't understand, Cortana." Chief sighed. "I mean, none of this makes any sense!" Cortana kept her calm. "Just give it time." She reassured him.

"Give it time? We don't have time, Cortana."

"John." She spoke. "Ever since I was created, I knew I was going to choose you to be the leader of the team. I looked at countless other candidates. Sure, there might have been some that were a thousand times stronger, or a million times faster, but none of them had your leadership qualities. Your charisma, your courage, your quick thinking, no one could have all that except you."

Cortana cleared her throat before continuing. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm having a tough time too. There's a nasty world out there, overrun by the worst kinds of people imaginable, and this group is the only one in the world that can stand up to them. They need a leader. They need you."

Chief was silent as Cortana extended her arm, making a hard light hologram. "We'll pull through this." Cortana reassured him as he shook. "Right. Now let's get down to business!"

Chief stood up and got ready to walk back to the rest of the Elite. "Thanks. I needed that." Was all he said before walking off, ready to be a leader once more.

"Alright guys." He spoke, finally back at the head of the table. "I know this is all pretty weird to you, but like it or not, the world needs us. We have been chosen over so many others to protect this place, so it's up to us to show the world why!"

There was silence. "All in favour, raise your hand." Death's Hand and Marius Titus were the first to raise their hands. The others looked around, and one by one, raised their hands.

Chief smiled a little under his visor. "Great!" He cheered. "Where to next, Cortana?"

"Well, we need more recruits. Powerful recruits too. We need to find the Jack of Blades."

 ** _Author's Note_**

So for this fanfic I'm actually reading comics/manga for more source material, when it comes to Killer Instinct, Call of Duty and Touhou. Fortunately, they all have pretty recent material to work with. As for Balrog beating Rick Taylor in a fight, most of these fights are solely to advance the story, sometimes with some level of knowledge of the two characters. But aside from that, nm to say this time.

Until Next Time!


	5. War is coming

Balrog was still taking some tiding over. Green Heart had taken him on herself to convince him to join, just outside the Hakurei shrine gate. "For good?" Balrog raised an eyebrow, folding his arms. "I ain't interested in running a charity. If you want my services you're gonna have to pay a pretty penny."

Green Heart nodded. "I thought as much. Which is why I'll double what Ultratech are willing to pay you." She then grabbed a briefcase and chucked it at Balrog. "Here's a down payment." Balrog whistled as he opened it up. "You must really want me if you're gonna write a blank cheque." He muttered. "Money is no object, Balrog." Green Heart replied. "Well, fine. I'll work for ya, but I better see that cheque!"

* * *

"Ugh..." Kasumi was slowly coming around. "What...where am I?"

"Take it easy." That voice. It was Ryu. The ninja wore his usual attire, still keeping his face concealed, fearful that anyone could burst in and see his face. "What happened?" Kasumi asked groggily. "You were knocked out cold. Lucky to be alive, I would say." Ryu explained. "Knocked out? By who?"

"A pugilist. I told you not to enter that contest." He scolded. "Contest? What?" Ryu realized that he had to start from the beginning.

"DOATEC were bought out by another company. One called Ultratech, who had their own combat tournament, similar to Dead or Alive. You insisted that you had to get to the bottom of things, and you wouldn't take no for an answer, and so you ran off to compete in the tournament, vowing to know what was going on. Needless to say, you did not get that far." Ryu explained. Kasumi finally came around, slowly sitting up in the bed she was lying in. "Who'd I lose to?" She asked. "A boxer. I had not seen him before, nor have I seen him since, but word has it that he won the whole tournament." He explained.

"I see." Kasumi slowly got up. "So where are we now?"

"A place called Liberty City. A person who was kind enough to take the two of us in for the time being. You must rest." With that, he got up and left the room, looking for the guy who took Kasumi in.

Closing the door behind him, Ryu had a moment to take in the fact that he was currently in the underworld of the city. The wallpaper was peeling off the walls, the lights were barely working, and the whole place smelled of alcohol, cigarettes and piss. But that was why it was perfect. No one would look here.

"Everything is ok, yes?" The host asked. Ryu turned to him. He looked like a rough customer, with his shaven head and dirty clothes, wearing a brown jacket over them. He wore tracksuit pants and fingerless gloves as well. His accent was distinctly East European, giving Ryu a full house in stereotype bingo.

"Yes. Everything is fine. I must thank you again for what you've done. Truly, we would be lost without you, Mr..."

"Nicholas Bellic." He said. "But call me Niko. I have no need for thanks, this is me just trying to turn things around, if you understand."

Ryu didn't, but he wasn't going to say that. "Either way, we'll likely be gone before long." Niko nodded. Then there was a knock at his front door.

That usually meant bad news. If Roman ever wanted to go bowling, he just called. He called over and over and over, but he never knocked. Other than that, he couldn't think of anyone who would be knocking at his door.

He grabbed his AK-47 and headed to the door.

"Hello?" The voice from the other side came. "Anyone home?"

Niko pressed his back against the door and flung it open, making sure to catch the person on the other side completely off guard. He appeared to have made the right decision seeing the man on the other side wearing a mechanics uniform, wielding some weird hybrid of buzzsaw and sledgehammer with both ends soaked in blood.

"So there is someone else here. Good." He said. "Who are you?" Niko questioned, not lowering his weapon. "I'm Nick Ramos." He replied. "I used to work as a mechanic before the outbreak, and I-" "The outbreak?" Niko raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, the outbreak. Don't tell me...you've never heard of the outbreak before?" Niko shook his head. "I think you'd better take a look outside." Nick suggested. "You lead the way." Niko ordered, pointing his AK-47 towards the stairwell. Nick sighed, but he didn't argue, leading the way for Niko to see what had happened in a matter of minutes in Liberty City.

* * *

"I must be going." Richtofen got up. "I still have much to do." Alan raised an eyebrow. "Hey, don't you think you might want some help?" Alan asked. "Nein. This is a far more complex matter than can be solved by those not already involved."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He questioned. "It means that this is something I must do alone."

Richtofen readied himself to attack the ghost again, as it revealed its face. A ghastly sight, but it seemed more passive than the first time. Like it wasn't going to attack. "I wi- will go." She said. Richtofen and Alan were taken aback by the ghost's ability to speak English, albeit, not very well. "Dist-t-t- turbance, I see." She stammered. Richtofen looked at her, then to Alan. "Look. It's clear none of us have any idea what's going on. If we can at least find someone who does, you might have a better chance of completing whatever you want to do."

Richtofen paused. "Very well. But...must the ghost-" "Hisako." The ghost cut him off. "Hisako" Richtofen corrected himself. "tag along with us?" Hisako couldn't really speak up for herself, not having much English to use, but she at least understood what was going on. She hissed at Richtofen, making it clear she wasn't taking no for an answer. He sighed. "Very well. But I will continue on my own after this."

* * *

"Hold still, you bastard!" Balrog grunted as he threw another wild swing at TJ Combo, with the latter ducking to avoid it before retalliating with a few uppercuts to capitalize on his failure. "You're strong alright." TJ dodged another punch. "But you're about as smart as a bag of rocks." Balrog's hatred for the puny champ intensified with that remark, as he started to speed up with his punches. "Ugh! Why don't you go to hell?!" Balrog yelled, trying a screw smash uppercut. TJ rolled out of the way as Balrog stopped in front of a tree and unleashed his punch on the tree, completely uprooting it and causing it to fall over.

 **"HEY!"**

The two boxers turned to see the Hakurei shrine maiden with steam coming out of her ears.

"Do you think this is your own personal boxing ring?!" She demanded. "I'm not in the mood." Balrog grunted, fixing his sleeveless robe. "I swear, if I catch you..." "what?" Balrog sneered. "I'll make you regret it. Right now!" Balrog laughed at the challenge. "Thought this place was a no fight zone." He reminded her. "I'll make an exception in this case." Reimu let her Purification Rod cross Balrog's arm, making an 'X' shape, sending them both into an Elite battle.

The Elite were well aware of this power by now, and it made for good use in practice, or when you wanted to settle a debate. TJ and Balrog had elected not to use it on the basis that pain was real, and not something that went away at the end of a fight. TJ's philosophy, but Balrog didn't care either way.

Speaking of Balrog, a minute passed before the battle ended, and he fell to the ground, wounded and humiliated. "Annoying bitch..." He muttered. Reimu had already calmed down and went back to the shrine.

 _An hour later_

"So now what?" Dempsey asked. "We're gonna need a base of operations, and I don't see anywhere where we could do that. Unless we set up here, of course."

Reimu felt a chill run down her spine at the thought. It had barely been an hour, and already she had to scold Balrog and TJ for letting their fights get out of hand.

"Not a chance!" She spat. "If I've gotta keep reminding Frosty the Snowman not to hide in bowls, I'm out."

"Well, why don't we move?" Glacius asked, brushing off the insult. "This is kind of my living. I need to stay here. Marisa, how about you take them?"

Marisa's face fell. "Why me? Leave me out of this! Hey, boxer! You pay for accomodation!" Balrog felt his grip tighten on his briefcase. "My fight money, not yours!"

"We could head back to the Night Guard." TJ suggested. "Not bad..." Orchid considered. "The others have been captured." Jago reminded them. "It's likely Ultratech anticipates our arrival there." Orchid and TJ conceded.

"Well...I'm fresh out of ideas." TJ threw his arms in the air. "Guess we're gonna have to build a place with our bare hands."

"With what?"

"Hey, it's someone else!" Marisa pointed to the man making his way up the steps to the Shrine Gate. "Think he knows a place we can stay?" TJ asked. "Don't get your hopes up." Green Heart advised. "Alan Wake is just as lost as you are."

47 looked up at her. "You know him?" Green Heart nodded. "I thought I told you I know who all the Elite are." 47 brushed it off before focusing on the next...thing...coming up the stairs. A hideous creature, which caused them all to raise their weapons, and Alan Wake to stop and raise his hands.

"I'll approach them. See if they're working for Cortana or not." Green Heart began to fly off, lance at the ready.

"Stop!" A third voice cried out. Green Heart stopped in mid air at the German accent. The Elite moved closer to the Shrine Gate, with Dempsey recognizing the voice and moving to the front. "We mean you no harm. We just wish to know where we are!" The man finally came into view, seeing the Elite with his hands up. "My associates-" He stopped, recognizing the front man. "Dempsey?"

"Richtofen." Dempsey lowered his weapon. "Good to see someone else made it out alive." Richtofen brushed it off. "Takeo and Nikolai will be alive and well with the staffs to protect them." He said. "But now, we must look for the Kronorium, und the Summoning Key."

"You mean the book?" Dempsey asked, producing it and handing it to the Doctor. He took it and smiled at the cover as the others came out to see what he was doing. "Ah. Der Kronorium!" He kissed it before issuing his first command. "Find the Summoning Key!" The book went to the glowing page.

"You found it already?" Richtofen asked. "Well..." "that was me." Reimu spoke up. " _Your_ work? I think I had more to do with it than you." Marisa interjected.

"Ah. Dr. Richtofen." Green Heart came forward. "Your arrival is much appreciated. We could use your help."

Richtofen turned to Dempsey. "What is this?" He asked.

"Turns out our friend has some more allies." A voice spoke up. A British accent, no doubt. Richtofen looked over to see a familiar face. An elderly looking man wearing a red scarf, baggy pants, a plain grey shirt and a green jacket. "Looks like we're going to have to set aside our differences for now, Richtofen." Dr. Monty informed him.

"Wherw the hell did he come out of?!" Marisa demanded, startled by his sudden prescence.

Dr. Monty...wasn't your average doctor. Or a doctor at all. Neither Richtofen nor Dempsey knew his real name, but they knew him to be very powerful. A force to be reckoned with indeed. He was something called a Keeper. Now, that didn't mean Richtofen was crazy for him, he actually had a lot against Monty, but he still worked with him regardless.

"So why don't you start by telling them everything?" He suggested. "I thought we agreed no one else would know." Richtofen countered. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, fuck that. That was fine when you were the only confident people on earth."

"I agree." Dempsey stepped forward. "You'd be a damned fool to turn down this." Richtofen was still reluctant. But he knew he was outnumbered heavily, and resistance was futile. Very well, he would just have to tell all.

"Very well. But I advise you all to take a seat. This may take a while."

Soon they were all crammed into the shrine itself, while Reimu prepared some tea. "Danke." Richtofen took his cup. "So, where should I begin?" He asked Monty. "Beginning." He responded. "I see. Well, it all started with an ancient war."

"An ancient war?" Alan asked. Richtofen nodded. "In the earliest days of the universe, there existed beings known as The Keepers. These were torn between the powers of both the Aether, and the Dark Aether."

Realizing he was going to be talking for a while, he took his weapons off his back to give himself a rest.

"The war lasted for many, many millennia, but the Keepers managed to defeat the corrupted, who took on the name of Apothicons. The Keepers wanted to harness the powers of the Aether for their own purposes, but naturally, they struggled to control such massive power on their own. So they created a device known as the Summoning Key." He explained.

"With the Summoning Key, the Keepers were able to manipulate the powers of the Aether, and with that, they created dimensions. The first, and best, was Agartha."

He paused, perhaps contemplating whether or not he should go on, but realizing he had said too much to turn back on now, he proceeded. "But as the Keepers created more and more dimensions, the Apothicons would continually lead humanity astray, forcing the Keepers to start over. This continued for many dimensions of their creation, but the Keepers eventually had an idea."

"Why didn't these Keepers just step in and banish the Apothicons?" 47 questioned. "It was one of the laws the Keepers made when they created dimensions. There would be no infringement on humanity's free will and independent decision making. But then the idea came about. What if the Keepers were to guide humanity from a distance? Not telling them what to do, but provide subtle hints on what to do, and how to defeat the Apothicons. The idea failed in the sixty second dimension of their creation, but then came Dimension 63."

Richtofen threw down the book onto the table, and produced a smaller book. "Five hundred years ago, the Apothicons declared war on both humanity and the Keepers, wanting to retrieve the Summoning Key so they could become Godly. But then, something unexpected happened. The Apothicons could not even get past humanity, as an army lead by four brave men managed to repel them with weapons of a divine status. Humanity was forever in debt to these heroes, and although they were never seen again, a magnificent tomb was built where they were first seen in Northern France. It was called, 'The Graves of the Ancients'."

"Okay, so these...Ancients were obviously pretty powerful." TJ spoke up. "So why are there all these zombies running around? What does it have to do with that old guy controlling them all?" He asked. "The Apothicons were not destroyed, merely repelled. They would attack again, and choose their time for doing so. They first set about killing the Keepers, and were unsuccessful. Only one of them proved to be their undoing. His name, was Dr. Monty. Knowing he would need humanity's help in defeating the Apothicons, especially that of the Ancients, he fled to Dimension 63, along with the Summoning Key and one other item, to help humanity find it, and thus initiate his plan to fight back."

"But what if someone else found either of those things instead of you?" Orchid asked. "They did. Both times. You see, I was a scientist working for Group 935 during the Great War, conducting experiments for our government for weapons thought too dangerous for world use. We thought differently. Our head scientist, a dear friend of mine. Dr. Ludwig Maxis, a brilliant mind. He and two other Group 935 scientists went on an expedition to a lost shrine in south east Asia, believing there to be a gateway to another dimension hidden within, as all those who had set foot in it previously either came back mad or didn't come back at all. The locals of the area would not take anyone there, for fear of what would happen to them. But Maxis proved them all wrong, and returned with a book. A journal of the last explorer to return alive from what people called 'Shangri-La', around 500 years ago. A Mexican by the name of Pablo Marinus, who described the location of ancient powers that could change the world as we know it. Maxis might have returned, but his two associates, Gary Narracott and Brock Hammond were not so lucky. They died of...mysterious causes."

"What 'mysterious causes'? It seems as though this 'Maxis' character might have done it himself." Glacius quizzed.

"Nein." Richtofen shook his head. "Maxis was not responsible. But he became obsessed with the journal, only wanting to unearth its secrets. He insisted that we must go to a place in Northern France where we would find ground-breaking discoveries, but of course, that would have triggered an international war." Richtofen stopped. "und then...the Great War. It was perfect for Maxis. Group 935 was assigned to Excavation Site 64 in order to unearth the secrets of Marinus, hoping to ensure Germany's ultimate victory in the war. I still remember when we were a small crew living off the same rations of front line soldiers. But once we found Element 115, everything changed. He then produced a small vial of blue liquid and looked around. There was a rather convinient pot of wilting flowers nearby, and so Richtofen decided to demonstrate.

"115 was a blessing for us." Richtofen continued, popping off the cork. "It was an extremely efficient energy source, requiring much less work than our usual fuel sources to produce a much greater output. All of a sudden, our budget went from 6,000 Papiermarks to 6,000,000 Papiermarks as Group 935 continued to find ways to exploit this energy for new ideas. Myself and Maxis came up with so many ideas."

He then poured a drop into the soil around the flower. The Elite watched, somewhat amazed as it stopped wilting and returned to an upright position, earning its colours back too. Richtofen quickly sealed the tube again and put it away.

"As you can see, 115 became the canvas for our works. I came up with the Ray Gun, und the Wunderwaffe DG-2, while Maxis made many more devices that could control the world around us. He was the Da Vinci of his time, and he claimed it was all down to the voices in his head.

But as the war went on, Maxis became more and more obsessed with finding the four elemental staffs which the ancients used. He claimed to hear a voice which he said was his daughter calling out to him. It was at its worst during 1918, with our fatherland under increased pressure from allied forces, Maxis had abandoned weapons production entirely and focused only on obtaining the staffs."

Richtofen realized that he hadn't touched his tea, and so, he took a sip before continuing.

"The staffs were lost however. Maxis then decided that he would recreate the staffs using designs from the graves of the Ancients, and so he was able to recreate inferior copies of each of the staffs. He listened to the voice of his 'daughter' who told him that he needed to go to 'The Crazy Place' in order to perfectly recreate the staffs. While I alone headed weapons development, Maxis succumbed to insanity, as I began to hear the same voice of a girl named Samantha Maxis. I ignored her for a while, but then, my men began to...get sick. I asumend it was merely the mining, but Maxis began to get sick too. If I had known what was going to happen was about to take place, I would have folded Group 935 a long time ago."

Dempsey knew what happened next, but he let Richtofen continue.

"As I demonstrated, the transformative power of 115 was good for more than just making weapons and powering robots. It was also capable of reanimating dead cells in living organisms."

"Zombies." TJ Combo put the pieces together in his head. "Ja." Richtofen answered. "With the bodies of centuries old crusaders combined with the dead in our own trenches, our troops were completely overwhelmed in a matter of hours. Maxis was bitten, und so I made the decision to stay behind and preserve his brain so that he may have found a new body in the future. That was when I met Dempsey. He and two others, an exiled Soviet, Nikolai Belinski and a Japanese samurai, Takeo Masaki all were sent as part of squadrons to investigate the sudden outbreak. Only they succeeded in their goals, making it to me. I explained to them what Maxis was trying to do as a part of his research, und together we were able to find Maxis' staff parts and create the staffs. I must admit, even though I despised her at first, Samantha proved invaluable to us. Once we were able to solve the puzzles that unlocked the true power of the staffs, she helped us open the gateway to Agartha."

He took another sip before continuing.

"That was where we met Dr. Monty. You see, as I mentioned earlier, Dimension 62 was yet another victory for the Apothicons, but it did leave behind it the seeds to success. Through another series of complex events, Samantha was absolved from her dimension und sent to Agartha, where she was able to reach out to us as the Shadowman prepared another assault on humanity. We were going to need a lot if we were to succeed."

He took out the book which had shown the picture of the Summoning Key. "Der Kronorium. A book written by the Keepers which catalogues every event that ever happened across all their dimensions. Once I secured this, I was able to locate and retrieve the Summoning Key, with its previous owner having trapped the Shadowman inside it."

"So then what did you need to do? Seems like the Shadowman shouldn't even be here." Marisa asked.

"Our entering of Agartha set in motion events which would ultimately lead to the Apothicon's grand victory over humanity and the Keepers. We needed the Summoning Key to gather the souls of those responsible for such events, and make sure they could not cause such harm. We thought everything was over after that point, even Maxis was soon back to normal. Aber, we forgot about the Shadowman. He manipulated Maxis' mind, causing him to free the Shadowman, and wage war against the Keepers on their own home turf. Thankfully, we were able to defeat him, for what we thought was once and for all. But obviously, that was not the case. We lost both the Summoning Key und the Kronorium, all the Keepers but one were killed, und now...here we are."

"So the Summoning Key must be pretty powerful." Reimu muttered. "The most powerful artefact ever created." Richtofen confirmed. "It can manipulate reality in so many ways, moving mountains, expanding and contracting any object, and it can even possesses minor control over humans. Why, it can even create matter from thin air. You must tell me where you saw it."

Reimu didn't really know how to say it, but she tried her best...

"Jesus fucking Christ." Dr. Monty sighed. "The most powerful artefact ever created...and it's in the hands of a child?!" He ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, alright, fine. I don't know much about all of this other insane bullshit that's come into play now, but it's unlikely that the child has much experience with the Summoning Key. She should still struggle to understand how it works and more importantly, how to use it. If we afford her much time, the world may be at her knees."

"We had better get moving then." Green Heart shook her head. "No. There's still so much we have to do. More people we have to find, fending off Ultratech, the Shadowman, and everyone else associated with them."

"I take it we need to find Takeo and Nikolai as well." Tank suggested. "But where?"

"Well, you did mention they were Japanese and Russian, yeah?" Orchid spoke up. "Yeah, that's right. You seen 'em?"

"Well, I heard both of those while I was in the Ultratech prison, so maybe they're there. I don't know anyone else who would have spoke either of those in there." She told him.

"Alright." Tank nodded. "Seems good."

"I hate to interrupt, but this will all be moot if we forget the matter at hand." Monty reminded them. "The Microsoft Elite are a diverse bunch. There should be someone there who can stand up to this nightmare."

Monty gave a little ground. "Fair enough. I'll give you until the end of the week-and I'm being generous with that."

Green Heart smiled. "Excellent, we'll get moving then."

* * *

The Astral Plane was a desolate place. Rocks floated in mid air, creating what little hospitable land was there. That was only for the ruler of the place, and speaking of him...

There was a gathering of similar translucent blue humanoid beasts with wings, waiting for something to return to an empty throne. It was coming. The beast landed with a thud in the throne, a pale blue skinned demon, complete with horns and wings, and claws on his feet and hands.

The creatures bowed to their master. "Arise, Lord Gargos!" They chanted. Gargos eventually ceased the chanting, before speaking to his minions. "My subjects! Today is the day we overthrow the rulers of earth!" There was a loud cheer. "They may think they have bested us, but they will soon see how wrong they are!" The army of his heralds cheered as he began to open the portal to earth's dimension.

"You may think I would be so meek as to retreat from such an easy capture, Jago." He muttered with a grin forming on his face. "What a simple fool you are. Alas, you have great potential you are yet to realize. But you cannot hold out forever, Jago. The day when you finally give in to me will be the greatest day of your life. And the most important day in mine."

 ** _Author's Note_**

So, I'm back again. As for DOATEC, don't expect them to feature much in the story, or feature at all really. I'll probably do more around Cortana's side next time, but I had a shit ton of exposition to get out of the way. I sometimes remember when COD zombies was just about four random marines trapped in a bunker trying to survive the night. How simple was that? Either way, I still love the story, and it holds a special place in my heart.

Gargos is...not dead?! I have reasoning I'll get to much later on, but he's gonna look to fuck shit up for everyone at some time too, so expect him. He won't be taking sides.

That's all, I don't have much planned for Christmas, I'll probably just rank all of Season IV's Death Battles next time in the A/N.

Until Next Time!


	6. The Mark

Nick and Niko stepped out onto the streets, and it was like the whole world had gone to hell before them. There were people running in all directions, screaming as they were chased by yellow eyed freaks who wouldn't stop making obnoxious shrieking sounds. It may have been a elaborate hoax, but then Niko noticed a woman tripping over while being chased, and the three or so freaks that were chasing her began to eat her. He had seen worse, thankfully. But that was more than enough to tell him something was seriously wrong.

"What is this?!" Niko demanded, pointing his AK at Nick. "Is this your work?!" Nick raised his hands in self defence. "Woah! I had nothing to do with this, I just got here!" Niko then lowered his weapon, realizing that he was being unreasonable.

"But then, who's causing this?" Niko asked, slowly retreating into his apartment block, and signalling for Nick to follow him.

"I don't know. Maybe-"

They blacked out.

* * *

The Lord of Games looked down on the city. "So you finally did it?" He asked. The Shadowman nodded. "It was the easiest way to get things done." He replied. "ARIA isn't going to like this." The L.O.G. spoke. "She won't have a choice." The Shadowman countered. "If she wants her threats eradicated, she will have no choice but to accept my proposal, no matter how she feels about it. It will preserve her ideal world too."

* * *

In the Ultratech prison, a Brazillian woman was the first to notice her cell door had been opened. Maya walked out, and called left and right for signs of any life. "Maya?" It was Kim-Wu. The young martial arts prodigy had Temperance and Vengeance in her hands, and tossed them to Maya. "Kim, where are the guards?" She asked. Kim shrugged. "They just disappeared."

Maya seemed sceptical. "I cannot believe that. There must be some reasoning for this." Kim shrugged. "Whatever, not like I'm complaining. Might as well get out of here while we can."

That was when Maya noticed something. On Kim's left hand, there was a mark. Especially strange, since Kim wore a glove on her left hand, which the mark had seemingly burned through.

It was a red mark, in the shape of a footprint, but not of a human. Of...some kind of beast. It wasn't an ugly one either, this mark was very well done, you could make out the back of the foot, and three claws on her hand.

"Kim?" Kim-Wu turned around. "Yeah?" She asked. "Where did that mark come from?" Kim looked down at hed hand for the first time and noticed.

"I don't know." She admitted. "Maybe it's a tag. Ultratech branded us to make it harder to get out." She tried to reason.

Maya wasn't so convinced. She looked again at her own mark and noticed that it had burned through a part of her left gauntlet which would have otherwise covered it.

Something wasn't right.

On the other side of the prison, two men were re-arming themselves after being taken custody.

One was wearing enough kevlar to probably shoot up the entire prison without taking cover, as well as a hat with goggles on top. He had an axe on his back, as well as a staff, which was a glowing light blue, and gave off a cold aura, like it carried the winter around with it. He also had a massive gun there too, red and chrome design, with a massive barrel, obviously not designed for conventional warfare. There were four lights on the back of the barrel, and the whole gun seemed to be made out of tubes, with a foregrip and trigger attached to the bottom. It was a weapon he liked to call the Thundergun. On his belt, his Russian pride showed, carrying a sickle, and a few Matryoshka dolls. They weren't just for entertainment though. He also had a glowing blue space gun on his belt, and in his arms, he held a PPSh-41, a common gun for Russian WW2 troops. But none of those ones were red and chrome.

The other man was quite different. He was Japanese, for a start. He had his hair tied back in a bun, and wore bandages around his exposed arms, obviously used to much warmer climates. Rather than an axe on his back or a sickle in his belt, he had a katana which he kept in a sheath, which was admittedly tied to his belt. He had the strangest weapons on his back. Something that seemed to use ink cartridges as its ammo, and the barrel looked more like it was for taking photos than anything that could hurt you. Much like the other guns, this one was red and chrome. He too had a staff on his back, and it was the polar opposite of the other staff. It glowed a bright red, with flames coming off the head, yet they didn't even burn the clothes on his back.

On his belt he had some stuffed cymbal monkeys, wearing funny hats and dynamite on their backs. He also had some mines which were covered in spikes, as well as two spikes that could be used to attack the ground.

He had a gun in his hands that had red and chrome designs, and a red dot sight, something he called the Galil.

"You know that this is the work of the Shadowman?" Nikolai questioned. "I am well aware of that." Takeo replied. "We must find any other survivors before the situation becomes unsustainable. Richtofen and Dempsey appear to be gone already."

"Perhaps this is part of the German's plan." Nikolai muttered. Takeo was about to start an arguement, but he knew it wouldn't end. "I doubt anything involving him would be part of Richtofen's plan. Nevertheless, we must search the prison for the survivors which may remain."

"I'm telling you this, if you don't change things back, I'll crucify you!" The barbarian warlord yelled. Kan-Ra laughed at Tusk. "I keep telling you, this is not my work. Nor that of Gargos, or Ultratech. This is something new entirely." The Babylonian sorcerer explained. He was met with some loud footsteps behind him.

The giant earth golem Aganos obviously didn't agree as he growled at Kan-Ra. "Now, now. You don't honestly believe I had anything to do with this?" Aganos paused. "I guess not." Said another voice, this time belonging to a Native American man wielding a bow. "Locked up in those cells, it would have been impossible to do much."

"Agreed." His older brother stepped out from behind him, wielding two tomahawks instead of a bow. None of them knew his real name, but everyone knew his title, Chief Thunder. "But I think we should still keep an eye on the sorcerer, lest he try anything to hinder us."

As Maya and Kim-Wu wandered around for the exit, they slowly found more and more unnatural things. As they approached an elevator to the roof of the prison, they saw that it was locked. But not in the high tech fashion Ultratech might have done it in. No, this was a lock and chain around the elevator to stop anyone getting in. "That wasn't there before." Maya muttered, attempting to cut it with Temperance. Despite her best efforts, the chain held firm, without so much as a scratch. "Here, let me try."

Kim readied her nunchucks for a powerful swing and unleashed it on the lock. The impact resonated throughout the cell block, but the lock was still untainted. "What the hell? How did Ultratech make these?"

Then there was a voice.

"Don't you understand? You're cursed." It said. "Cursed?" Maya was already putting the pieces together in her head. "The marks which you bear on your left hands have doomed you to this prison, until the eventual destruction of your dimension."

All of a sudden, the prison was seemingly dragged to hell. Hanging bodies were everywhere, with candles and skulls littering the cell block as all the cells opened, with shambling yellow eyed freaks coming out of every one of them, screaming while setting their sights on Kim and Maya.

"You may try to run." He continued, as on a lower level, Thunder drove his tomahawk through one of them, signalling for those with him to get upstairs.

"You'll naturally try to fight back." He went on, as Takeo sliced the head off one of the undead while Nikolai fired the PPSh into the horde that was chasing them, trying to thin the numbers.

"But it is more futile than you realize. Only through me, the Shadowman, can you lift your curse."

As Tusk noticed Kim and Maya getting ready to fend off the corpses from in front of them, Tusk and the others turned and faced the horde that had accumulated behind them. Then, Takeo and Nikolai raced up the stairs on their side, and realized that the other ways out were sealed off, and so they joined the others in their stand against the nightmare. They didn't know who the others were, and vice versa, but it was obvious that the only things in the prison still capable of rational thought were gathered together at that very moment, at that very spot.

"One more thing." The Shadowman added. "No one escapes alive."

* * *

Niko woke up feeling dazed.

"Ugh, what happened?" Nick asked, getting up and rubbing the back of his head. "Someone drugged us, I think." Niko suggested, slowly getting up. But as he was getting up, he noticed a mark that had burned through the fingerless glove on his left hand. "What the fuck?" He stared at his hand, as Nick did the same. "Are there any gangs here that use that logo?"

Niko shook his head, and made sure the apartment block door was firmly shut and locked, before heading back to his apartment. "We must make sure there are other people left. Liberty City is no longer safe for us."

He went into his apartment to find Ryu and Kasumi getting ready to leave. Upon looking at their left hands, Niko noticed the mark was there too. "We have to go." Niko ordered. "I was getting ready to do so." Ryu replied. "We passed out...I don't know how long ago, but when we woke up, we had these marks on our left hands." Kasumi explained.

Niko showed him his own mark, provoking more curiousity in Kasumi. So these marks obviously meant something. It wasn't just a meaningless symbol.

"We must go up." Niko instructed, running out of his apartment and looking for the nearest stairwell, followed by Kasumi and Ryu. "Hey, wait a second!" Nick called after them, not wanting to be left behind.

Running up the stairwell, Niko hoped he would be able to see a helicopter or something, that would be able to help him get out of the city along with the other three.

Arriving on the roof, he didn't expect to see what he did. Liberty City had seemingly gotten tired of waiting for him to come outside and got destroyed while he was out cold. The streets below were ravaged, covered in flames and broken glass. The sky was a dark red colour, and the city was surrounded by fog.

Niko could still see, with the city being well illuminated, even so high up. But the fog remained thick as ever, like a barrier. Like a barrier...that was exactly it. A barrier. Like someone wanted to shut off the city from the outside world.

All of a sudden, those marks on his hands were starting to make more sense.

However, before that, he noticed the other man on the rooftop. He was a pale skinned man, wearing a navy hoodie and a black overjacket, with jeans, and something going on with his right hand. His left hand, of course, bore the mark, but his right hand seemed to be made out of an alien substance. This didn't freak him out in the slightest though, as he just noticed Niko staring at him. "You got a problem?" He asked. "What is that? Your hand-" "Yeah, yeah, I know." Alex Mercer rolled his eyes.

"I get that a lot. My whole body's made out of it." He continued. "Biomass. Y'know, just some science experiment is all."

Niko wanted to ask a question, but for a moment, it was so obvious that he didn't ask. "Surely you have seen the undead?" Alex made no response with his body language. "I did, yeah."

Ryu was the next to step forward, sensing how powerful this new opponent was. "Please." Ryu wagered. "You must help us in our endeavor." Alex laughed. "Hey, buddy, I don't know if you noticed, but everyone, and I mean EVERYONE is gone. I don't know much about it myself, maybe it's the government, or maybe it's the end of the world. I don't know. Either way, makes no difference to me."

"Well, we could use some help in keeping back those zombie guys down below." Nick suggested. "So?" Alex raised his eyebrow. "What the hell do I care if you die? I'm not sure if they like Biomass as much as you."

"You refuse to help?" Ryu didn't like this guy already, but when there was such an easy choice to be made, there was only one thing to do.

"Hey, back off!" Alex snapped, seeing Ryu draw his blade. "If you do not wish to assist us, well then, that can only mean you are against us. I am sorry, but I can't allow you to be a threat any longer!"

"Jesus. Talk about jumping to conclusions." Alex let his arm form into a blade shape to block the Dragon Sword. Niko, Nick and Kasumi braced themselves for an intense battle between Hayabusa and Alex, but then, there was a green 'X'.

The blinding green 'X' shape took them both to the empty rooftops of Liberty City, free from zombies, and all other people, for that matter.

"I take it this is another of your tricks." Ryu accused, pointing his deadly sword at Mercer. "Me? You're the one with crazy ninja skills. I think you'd be way more likely to do it than me." He countered. But Ryu wasted no time in making Alex pay for his negligence, lunging in with a slash from the Dragon Sword. That did something, but Alex didn't seem fazed. He simply laughed a little. "You obviously don't know who I am." He sighed. "Guess I'll just have to show you like the rest."

Alex quickly launched some biomass forward, attempting to latch on to Ryu, but the ninja was too quick, slashing through the substance before backflipping away. He then switched to a bow and started firing arrows, forcing Alex to form a shield and stick behind it.

The prototype was already planning an attack though, and a few seconds later, he had launched an attack which swept Hayabusa off his feet, allowing Alex to jump in with the Hammer Fist technique. Alex underestimated Ryu's skill as he rolled out of the way and jumped back in with a series of lightning quick slashes. Alex felt himself being hurt by the slashes, as he required more and more effort to keep going. He switched his arm to its blade form and attacked, countering Ryu's slashes, and then followed up with an uppercut with his free arm to launch the ninja into the air.

Alex then launched the Whipfist into the air to catch Ryu and slam him into the ground again, this time, doing enough to destroy the roof and send the two crashing through several stories before stopping. Ryu stood up, facing Alex as he tried to blow dust out of his vision, giving Ryu a perfect opportunity to counter-attack. He charged up his Essence technique and unleashed a wild flurry of attacks on Alex, catching him completely off guard and knocking him to the ground. The biomass man was however, able to escape from the final strike, and despite being severely weakened, launch an attack of his own.

Alex launched his Blade Sprint Frenzy, going wild in an attack from behind and seemingly trying to kill Hayabusa. The first few hits connected, setting up Alex for an excellent combo, but Ryu was able to regain his footing and get his sword up to counter the attacks, leaving Alex in a bad situation.

Ryu felt weakened too, but he knew he had done just enough. His enemy had exhausted himself in the worst position possible, and all he had to do was fulfil his death wish. He followed up with two more slashes, then he jumped into the air and slammed down on Alex with the Lunar Staff. That was enough. Alex was completely exhausted, but he still stood on his feet, with his head drooping.

Ryu had only one thing on his mind now, making sure Alex wasn't coming back for revenge. He ran up to the dazed scientist and used Obliteration technique to destroy him. That seemed to be enough as he fell to pieces, returning the world to normal. The undead populated the streets below, and the other three were around him.

"What was that?" Kasumi was confused, having seen Ryu and Alex reappear. Ryu looked behind him to see Alex Mercer sprawled out unconcious. "You just disappeared." Kasumi explained. "We were wondering where you went."

"I killed him." Ryu pointed to Alex. "I definitely killed him." The other three looked confused. "He was gone too man." Nick said.

"I insist, I-" But before Ryu could argue, he realized the undead were scaling the building from all angles, surrounding the survivors. Kasumi was first into action, taking out her sword and using it to decapitate any zombies that got too close, while Niko and Nick aimed down the building, shooting those that were trying to scale the building. Ryu joined Kasumi in slicing up any corpses that got too close.

Wasting so much time wondering where Ryu went was a poor choice. It allowed too much time for the undead to gather around the block and start scaling it. Niko's AK could only fire so fast. But there was something that caught his eye. A giant that was climbing up too. Unlike the zombies, his skin didn't appear to be decaying, and he would occasionally slap a zombie who got too close all the way down to the ground. He then looked up, wearing a white mask, and called up to Niko.

"Don't shoot!" He yelled. "Not an option!" Niko yelled back, seeing more than enough zombies getting too close to the top for comfort. "I just need a second!" It called back.

Then, the beast launched himself onto the roof to fend off more of the undead. "Thanks." He said as he thre himself into the fray with Ryu and Kasumi.

Niko had never seen anyone so ripped. Speaking of ripped, that's what the zombies were too. Ripped in half, that is. The guy was soaked in blood, but seemed unfazed by the overwhelming odds he was facing, using only his limbs to deal damage, using the occasional improvised weapon.

"Hehe." The beast laughed. "Feels good, don't it, Ricko?" Who was he talking to? "I guess." 'Rick' replied. It was the same person? How? Niko continued to focus on shooting, as did Nick, while Kasumi and Ryu focused on slashing, but Niko still listened to what 'Rick' was saying. "Bet you wished you used it during the tournament, huh?" The first voice again. It was deeper, and more sinister, as opposed to the second voice, which was more human. "Ugh, shut up! Fucking mask..."

Was that it? The mask could talk? That seemed like the only answer to the problem. "Hey, Russia, your six!" 'The Mask' called out. Niko turned around just as a zombie tried to take his head off, ducking and throwing it off the building.

The crew were still not holding out too well. Rick had only bought them a few minutes extra.

But just as everything seemed lost, a portal opened up on top of the building, with a man in green armour, as well as a glowing blue woman stepped out. The man in the armour opened fire into the hordes, greatly thinning their numbers around the portal while the woman turned to the crew.

"Come on!" She ushered, clearing a path to the portal. "What?!" Rick demanded, using another zombie as a projectile weapon. "There's no time to argue, get in the portal right now!" She yelled.

Niko, Nick and Sam were the first in, then Ryu and Kasumi, followed by Rick carrying Alex Mercer, before the armoured man and the woman stepped back in, with the woman sealing the portal behind them.

At last, they were away from the undead. But for how long? Who's to say this person would be any better? Only time would tell.

* * *

Sakuya stood at the door to the basement of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Her mistress had expressed concern for quite some time about what was going on down there, without saying why. It only got worse when Reimu and Marisa came to the mansion, but yet, Remilia hadn't told her anything, except that she placed confidence in her to go down there and prevent disaster. Sakuya knew that it was to do with Flandre, and that meant she couldn't just exterminate the problem. Nevertheless, she still had her knives at the ready to use in case anything else was down there.

Opening the door, Sakuya immediately knew something else had to be down there. It seemed as if a portal into space had opened up beneath the Scarlet Devil Mansion, with stars and galaxies being everywhere in her field of vision.

"Flandre?" She called out. There was faint laughter in response. Sakuya looked up the long flight of stairs ahead of her, which was the only way forward at the current moment. Without hesitating, Sakuya walked up, soon reaching the top to find a bland white platform which carried the usual contents of the basement. But even then, it seemed fragmented. Like the fabric of reality which held it together was being torn apart at the seams. Aside from that, there were more stairways going here, there and everywhere with no rhyme or reason to their layout. Sakuya could see Flandre standing at the centre of what would have been the basement, holding a spherical object which was giving off a glowing golden aura. She was staring off into the distance, where another stairway was constructing itself.

Sakuya understood the connection now. Flandre was using that object to make all this. But how? Either way, that was way too much for someone as young as her to handle. Better take it off her.

"Flandre!" The young vampire turned to face Sakuya. "Sakuya!" She cheerfully greeted. "Hey, look! My new toy!" She held up the sphere as the stairs behind her finished contructing. Sakuya decided to get to the point. "Flandre, that is not a toy." She stopped, with a look of surprise on her face, tightening her grip on the object. "What? You-you're not going to take it away, are you?"

Sakuya took a step forward. A big mistake, as Flandre stepped back, and the stairs behind her crumbled to dust. "My la-your sister is very concerned about you. I have to take it." Sakuya explained, trying not to provoke an outburst. "No!" Flandre shouted back. "It's mi-"

Sakuya had stopped time. Easily her most useful ability, allowing her to complete most of the day's work around the mansion in no time. She walked towards Flandre and reached out to take the sphere. Then it started to glow. Sakuya's time stop was shattered in an instant, catching her completely off guard. "What?!" She demanded as she was picked up by a glowing energy field and slammed into the nearest wall, which somehow remained intact. "It's mine!" Flandre repeated, clutching it in her chest. "You can't have it!"

Sakuya managed to pick herself up, and waited for Flandre to hold the item away from her body. The terror of the mansion soon lifted it in her hand, trying to repair the roof of the basement. Sakuya saw her opportunity, and threw a knife, using her temporal powers to speed up the knife as it flew towards the item, on course to knock it out of Flandre's hand.

But that still wasn't enough. The item caught the knife out of the air and held it there. Sakuya knew what was going to happen next though, and jumped out of the way of the knife as it was flung back at her.

Flandre turned back to Sakuya, looking visibly annoyed. "Leave me alone!" She demanded, as the roof started to crumble above Sakuya. "This is much more than I had bargained for." Sakuya muttered as she made a mad dash for the stairs, back towards the door as the pieces of the roof began to chase her, slamming into the stairs to the left and right of her, and one slamming into her back, causing her to fall the rest of the way down.

Sakuya cried out in pain when she landed, feeling something broken inside her. What was that thing? Where did it come from? Sakuya shook her head, getting to her feet under intense pain, and getting out of the basement.

Neither of those things mattered. All that mattered was that Flandre was separated from that sphere, before she decided to take her fun outside.

 ** _Author's Note_**

Now I've introduced every KI character that's going to feature in this story, (aside from Mira and maybe Kilgore, 'cause he's cool.) and yes, they're all locked up. But now they have a chance to get out. Or do they?

I imagine Flandre would get the hang of using the Summoning Key really quickly, it's just a disturbing thought, so it makes sense. Kind of reminds me of The Twighlight Zone, but kind of toned for what the Shadowman does, it's based off Abrahamic scrpiture of rapture where those with the 'Mark of the Beast' are left on earth without being absolved into heaven. So yeah, the prison isn't going to be around for much longer.

One more thing, I said I'd do something like this last time. But, in case you don't know, I'm a huge fan of Death Battle. I've been watching the show since Eggman vs Wily, and it was a huge inspiration to make these crossover fics. So with Season IV over and done with, I've decided to rank the Death Battles based on the level of enjoyment I got out of them.

 **16\. Thor vs Wonder Woman**

So why's this one so low? First off, I felt the answer was obvious. Thor, powerful and all as he is, had no chance of defeating Wonder Woman. Secondly, we've had both these characters in Death Battle before, and part of the appeal for me in DB is learning about new characters. This is the show that got me into Street Fighter, Megaman, Dragonball, DC and many others, so having one battle be between two characters we already knew about seemed like a waste to me. Still, at least the animation was good and the outcome was correct, WW is also a much better character. Moving on.

 **15\. Batman Beyond vs Spider-Man 2099**

As for this one, it wasn't too bad. (I'm a Marvel fan more than DC, so maybe it's my personal bias). The outcome was fair, I felt. The animation seemed very abrupt though without reason for there to be. I can understand why this is a Death Battle though, and the characters were different enough from their past counterparts to be entertaining to learn about.

 **14\. Natsu vs Ace**

One Piece vs Fairy Tail round 2. It felt kind of like just giving Fairy Tail fans a win for the sake of doing so. I still enjoyed it, and it was a close match. (Coming from someone who has seen several episodes of Fairy Tail and no One Piece.)

 **13\. Lucario vs Renamon**

There were enough fundamental differences to the fight to make it entertaining, but Lucario vs Renamon was more of Natsu vs Ace, but less so. I'm a big Pokémon fanboy, and Digimon has been the brunt of many of my jokes, but I could accept that Digimon are way more powerful than Pokemon. The only Pokemon that stand a chance against Digimon are top tierlegendaries, and even then, I don't know enough about Digimon to say that even that much is true.

 **12\. Android 18 vs Captain Marvel**

I don't know why, but I just didn't like this fight as much as I felt I should have. I have to at least give some credit for the ending though, that got a good laugh out of me.

 **11\. Smokey Bear vs McGruff the Crime Dog**

Now we're getting to the ones I actually enjoyed. Being a European, I had no idea who Smokey and McGruff were when this battle was announced. But the animation. Wow. The first flash Death Battle didn't disappoint. It was a bit short, but I can accept that, with the team being new. This matchup was extremely one sided, sure, but I liked Chris Raeger and Christopher Sabat as the two mascots.

 **10\. Scrooge McDuck vs Shovel Knight**

To me, this matchup made a lot of sense when it was announced. I wasn't really thinking of Scrooge's cartoon background, more so just the Ducktales game on NES. But even though the match was sort of one sided, the 8 bit animation was appealing and fun, and that KO, oh wow. That was brutal.

 **9\. Metal Sonic vs Zero**

Admittedly, I am a little biased here, because I wanted this fight to happen ever since Wily vs Eggman. The combatants, while not as evenly matched as I hoped, still had one hell of a fight, and it's nice to see the fight finally settled.

 **8\. Lara Croft vs Nathan Drake**

I will say that the ending kind of bummed me out. Lara kicks Nate's ass in every category, but I still wanted Nate to win, and hoped something might come up. Oh well, it was a fun season opener.

 **7\. Venom vs Bane**

I love Venom. He's kind of like the Joker of the Marvel universe. What separates him from Deadpool is the sense of vulnerability, like, the symbiote can very easily be hurt, but it still acts the way it does, regardless of that. Even though this was kind of one sided, the animation made it seem much closer, and that ending...my God. So Venom.

 **6\. The Shredder vs Silver Samurai**

I have to admit, I thought this was going to be a joke battle at first between two bumbling morons, but I must say, I enjoyed learning about the more serious aspects of these two, and I like the connection between the two as well. The ending is brutal as all hell, and I love it.

 **5\. Sephiroth vs Vergil**

The finale ranks pretty high on my list, despite some pretty big flaws. Maybe it's just because it's fresh in my mind right now, but I really learned a lot about both characters, and ended up liking Sephiroth, and even being happy when he won the fight. (Final Fantasy was due for a break, tbh.)

 **4\. Sub-Zero vs Glacius**

I was hoping for Sub-Zero vs Ken as a follow up to Ryu vs Scorpion, but once that was thrown out the window by Ken vs Terry, I saw no one else but Glacius for Sub-Zero to fight. The battle of the cryomancers was really entertaining, and the music was on point (God, KI has such an amazing soundtrack). Something I don't see a lot in Death Battle is the characters sticking to their preferred fighting styles, which is fine, if it makes the battle more entertaining, but I appreciated the fact that Glacius did try to keep Sub-Zero away for most of the fight. The bait and switch ending is done better than any other I've ever seen, and I will say, I was happy Sub-Zero won.

 **3\. Megazord vs Voltron**

I fucking hated the Power Rangers as a kid. Strange, I know, but the levels of camp were too much for my then innocent soul to process, I guess. So it was nice seeing the Megazord getting fucked over. I have to admit though, being the most expensive Death Battle ever produced, it was worth every penny.

 **2\. Naruto vs Ichigo**

I never saw either of these two anime growing up. Well, that's not entirely true. I saw one episode of Naruto, where there was this guy trying to eat soup, but every time he tried to eat it, something bad happened.

That's it. So I learned a lot from this Death Battle, and I liked the response from Bleach fans to this Death Battle, just being happy to talk about a series you really love. I think that's sometimes what makes Death Battle great. I loved learning about Ichigo, and I took some feeling of happiness that someone somewhere was just really happy to see Ichigo in a fight.

Also, that reference to Chuck vs Segata at the end was a nice touch.

 **1\. Balrog vs TJ Combo**

From the moment I saw this one, I knew it would be 1.

Fantastic. It was nice to have a fight between two members of the Elite too, I guess, but this is definitely my favourite 3D Death Battle. It's amazing in every way, from the analysis of the characters as boxers, to the scripting of the fight to the sound design to the actual fight itself, holy shit. I kind of wanted Balrog to win since I'm a SF fanboy (and a Balrog main, this makes 6 straight losses for SF in DBs now. :'( ) but I digress, because this was definitely my favourite fight of the season.

As for fights I'd like to see in Season V, just four. The Punisher vs Judge Dredd, Alex Mercer vs Cole MacGrath, Akuma vs Shao Kahn (I know, I'm a hypocrite.) and Kool Aid Man vs Macho Man Randy Savage.

So aside from that, I'd like to wish everyone reading a Merry Christmas (or whatever you celebrate), hope 2017 was a good year for you, and have a happy new year.

See y'all in 2018!


	7. Confrontation and learning

Saya still couldn't fathom what she was doing wrong.

Saya jumped on the beast, hoping to startle it, and then wrapped her hands around his neck. "Hey, asshole! Pay attention here!" She snapped. "Grrrrrrr..." Nemesis responded, not stopping.

"Alright." Saya stopped. "I'll show you who's queen around here."

She began to get to work, as the beast fell to his knees, howling in pain.

"Stars...STAAAAAARS!" He shouted, as if a cry for mercy. Saya felt a smile form in the corners of her lips. It felt good to be back.

* * *

"Cole!"

That was the last thing Cole Phelps remembered before being hit by a wave. He still felt dazed, but for someone who was almost killed in a sewer, he was doing just fine. His beige suit wasn't even tarnished, and his hat was still on his head.

He checked for his belongings, still having his wallet, his badge, a flashlight and his pistol, and so he got to his feet. The flashlight came in handy for illuminating the dark forest.

He didn't have to travel far to see the first body.

The girl was lying unconscious on the ground, sprawled out and with a knife in her right hand. Cole was experienced enough to know what to do, walking over to the girl to inspect her. He checked her pulse, and was relieved to hear a faint beating, indicating that she would probably live. Cole wasn't a forensic scientist, but he had picked up more than a few notes from those he interacted with on a daily basis, and so he could tell some things about the girl by looking at her.

She was quite tall, not as tall as Cole, but still tall for someone as skinny as her. She didn't appear to be anorexic, but it was more than likely a genetic trait, or heightened metabolism.

Her dress sense seemed to indicate she was young, with her light brown hair tied into pigtails. She wore red shoes with shin high black socks, a purple pleated skirt and a pink turtleneck jumper with a small black and white check design going across the chest.

Cole would have guessed early to mid teens at most, which made it all the better she hadn't died. Cole had seen a lot of people the same age who weren't so lucky in his time.

"Hey. Are you okay?" He asked, trying to wake her up.

She wasn't responding. Perhaps she was choking? No, she was breathing just fine. Cole saw no blood, evidence that she hadn't been stabbed or shot. There was blood on the knife though.

Cole decided to inspect the blade, standing over the body and reaching for the hand that held the knife. He had to pull quite hard to get it out of her grip, but he got it.

"Just a standard kitchen knife." Cole muttered. "Maybe she ran away from home?"

But before he could continue his investigation, he was interrupted.

"Hey!" The voice shouted, accompanied by the sound of a gun cocking. Cole was about to reason with him, but he realized how bad he looked, standing over the body of a motionles girl while holding a bloody knife.

"Drop the knife." The voice ordered. Cole had his back turned to the man speaking to him. He wanted to turn around and see what the man looked like, but he made it clear that he had a gun he would not hesitate to use.

"Booker, maybe this is a misunderstanding." Another voice suggested. This time, it was a woman. "I'm not taking chances, Elizabeth. Things aren't looking too good for our friend here." Booker remarked, coming closer to Cole. "Drop the knife." He ordered. Cole went along with him, not wanting to appear like a derranged maniac.

"L.A.P.D. Sir, Phelps, Badge #1247." Cole gave Booker his details. "A cop, huh? I guess you're one of the guys Comstock surrounds himself with." Cole raised an eyebrow. "Who?" Booker sighed. "I'm not in the mood for games. You tell me what you know, hand over your weapons, and move along, maybe I'll let you live."

As the conversation went on, Cole began to dislike Booker more and more. "Threatening an officer?" Cole reminded him. "That's not gonna go down well with anybody." Booker took one more step. "Your jurdistiction ain't valid here."

Cole waited. All it took was one more step...

Cole wheeled around and disarmed Booker with one punch, then tackled him to the ground. Elizabeth quickly ran over and grabbed the gun, trying to shoot Cole.

Booker reached for his skyhook and revved it up, getting ready to kill Cole. "Are you out of your mind?!" Cole demanded. "I should ask you the same thing!" Booker spat, aiming for Cole's head. Fortunately, Cole got his arm up to block Booker, and was successful in holding him back. But in doing so, they created an 'X' Shape, green light blinding the two of them, and taking them, as well as Elizabeth, away from the forest.

* * *

Richtofen had the Kronorium in his hands, wandering through the human village in Gensokyo. Normally it would have looked out of place for something the Kronorium to be out in broad daylight, but here, he was probably the most normal looking person out of everyone.

The rest of the Elite were off doing their own things. Reimu was attending to the shrine, Marisa was doing God knows what, Tank was somewhere in Gensokyo, where Richtofen couldn't bother him, Jago and Orchid had found a place to spar, Glacius was told about an ice fairy, so he decided to go off and fight her, Balrog said he had work to do and Green Heart had disappeared elsewhere. She said she would be back, as did the rest of the Elite, though there were a few who hung back at the shrine, like TJ, Alan and Hisako. Balrog called it the retirement home before he left.

Richtofen was thrown a curveball though. A new world where everything he worked for no longer carried any weight. Not only had he lost the Summoning Key, but also two key devices needed to defeat the Shadowman, and his primary method of transportation.

Although, to be fair, it wasn't exactly a curveball he had been thrown. Richtofen had a hand in throwing the curveball, for the greater good, of course. Still, he hadn't intended for everythig to go like this. Though looking back on it, he wasn't sure how he intended it to go.

* * *

The crew arrived at the factory. Der Riese. "Is everyone alright?" Tank asked. "Ugh..." Nikolai groaned. "I feel sick." He turned aside to throw up. "A mere side effect of 115 exposure, Nikolai." Richtofen reassured him. "You will develop resistance over time."

"Whatever. So what now?" Dempsey asked. "Now, we take the teleportation device. We need not only to calibrate it but to sufficiently power it, so we may begin our chronological adventure." Richtofen explained. "We need it to gather the necessary components to locate the Summoning Key."

"In English, please." Dempsey responded. "That summoner thingamajig is lost after our last battle. We need to get to the moon base, find the Shadowman, find out where that thing is, and then we can kill him off for good? Makes sense?" Monty asked.

"Moon base? Hang on, no. That doesn't-" "Well too bad! We've got company now!" With that, he waved the crew goodbye, and disappeared.

"You mind telling me what the hell's going on?!" Dempsey demanded, turning to Richtofen. "It is hard to explain." He answered. "But if you must know, we have to save the world again, this time through different means."

At least it was a good place to start. The Giant, or Der Riese as it was officially known, was a WW2 factory in West Germany which served as the base of operations for Group 935 during the war years, which naturally meant that plenty of sinister activities were afoot during its heyday. Nowadays, it was still recognizable, with Group 935's logo and swastikas being easy to find, even amidst the snow.

There was more to the facility than that. Behind them, the familiar and welcome sight of the Pack-a-Punch machine as they knew it was shut off by a large steel door. Richtofen understood what needed to be done, as did the other three. Three teleporters needed to be linked to the mainframe, opening the door. It was their only hope of getting the mainframe active so they could stop the Shadowman. The first teleporter was to the left of the main courtyard. You had to pass through a lab to get to it. The second one was to their right. You had to pass through some testing facilities, go up the stairs, cross a bridge and arrive at the location where Group 935 carried out most of their chemical engineering. That was where the Perk-a-Colas originally came from , according to Richtofen. The third one was in front of them, past another courtyard and into the main testing facility of Group 935, where the majority of their experiments were carried out.

"You know what we must do, ja?" Richtofen asked the other three. "It is the same as the last time." Takeo nodded. "We have no time to lose." He pointed out. "The Shadowman is likely aware of our plans by now, and will do everything in his power to stop us." Tank seemed sceptical. "Why not just zap the main tower with your staff?" He asked. "The staff's power is too great." Richtofen explained. "A blast of that magnitude would fry the circuits, und leave us with no chance of survival." That seemed to do it for Tank. "So we're gonna need the Wonderwaffle." He realized. "Wunderwaffe." Richtofen corrected him. "It should be in the box, ready for us to find."

"I still am not convinced." Nikolai muttered. "But if it is for better tomorrow, then I will fight until my last breath."

"One last thing. Use the staffs sparingly. We will have later need for them."

"Fair enough. But if we're getting swarmed, which I have every reason to believe we are, I'm not sparing any ammo." Dempsey said, checking his guns.

He then fired a shot through the skull of a lone shambling corpse at the foot of the stairs. "Still works. Come on, Doc, we don't have much time."

 ** _Yticorpicer fo yaw yb emoc seiticorta ym lla_**

The undead began to pour through the windows, out of labs and into the courtyard, with the four making their way towards Teleporter A. There was an obvious trap set up in the doorway which would supposedly turn on at the flick of a switch and electrocute the zombies, but there was no electricity.

 ** _All my atrocities come by way of reciprocity_**

"There's still no power?!" Dempsey seemed exasperated. "Of everything that asswipe could have done!" He grumbled, firing his upgraded MG08 into the oncoming hordes. "We know where the power switch is." Nikolai reminded him, firing the Ray Gun in front of the crew.

 ** _I'm chewing the bones of my own reprieve_**

Tank reached the power switch first, on the other side of a generator where the Mystery Box happened to be, with a disembodied hand gripped on it. Flicking it, the Giant came to life just like that. The teleporters switched on, the Perk-a-Cola machines started to sing, bridges and barriers came down, and the traps were ready to use. "Swarming, look out!" He yelled to the others.

 ** _Death be my dignity_**

Richtofen had him covered, turning on the electric trap underneath the bridge. The bolts flew down to hit the ground as the undead were unable to piece together that they were walking to their death. Nikolai went for the Mystery Box, watching as it cycled through its usual range of weapons before landing on an SMG, and his favourite at that. Nikolai picked up the weapon and opened fire on the hordes, making sure no one stopped Takeo as he made his way towards Teleporter 3.

 ** _Execute hemlock philosophy_**

Nikolai stood inside the teleporter, having retrieved his trusty PPSh-41, the true best Russian gun ever made, being joined by Takeo and Richtofen as they awaited Dempsey's initiation of the link to the mainframe, allowing them to teleport around the facility.

 ** _Poison fills the cup of the carpenter_**

Dempsey ran towards the mainframe, with zombies dropping down from above on both sides, having to skilfully slash them to keep his path free.

 ** _No_**

 ** _Love lost on me_**

Dempsey finally got to the mainframe, kicking a zombie so he fell over and tripped up his buddies.

 ** _More_**

 ** _Life so costly_**

He slammed a button, causing the link to occur. The other three felt themselves teleport to the mainframe, as a golden ammo cannister appeared by the fence.

 ** _No reason_**

 ** _For grieving_**

Dogs. Hellhounds, to be more precise, had taken the place of regular zombies. Faster and less powerful, they too replenished the crew's ammunition supplies once they were all dead.

 ** _No_**

 ** _Love lost on me_**

Takeo made his way to Teleporter 1, past all the failed experiments of Group 935 which had resulted in the destruction of society. It didn't take long for him to make it to the teleporter, or to see the Mystery Box sitting in front of it. Takeo went for one spin, before the box landed on a set of futuristic looking spikes. The Ragnarok DG-4. Takeo grabbed the spikes as an oncoming horde was tripping over itself to get to him, and slammed them into the ground, launching them sky high. Takeo smirked at his work before moving on to the teleporter.

 ** _More_**

 ** _Life so costly_**

Richtofen was just equipping his very favourite Bowie Knife when he heard the link being initiated. "That's our cue!" Tank grabbed him and Nikolai lead the way, using the Ray Gun to blow the legs off every zombie in the vicinity.

 ** _Bring me down with_**

 ** _Seven point six two at high velocity_**

As the teleporter was activated, the group knew what they needed to do. Takeo and Richtofen ran for Teleporter 2, in the chemical testing area, hoping to complete the link.

 ** _I can see them everywhere, they're_**

 ** _All around me they're_**

 ** _Waiting for me_**

Takeo cut up another of the undead, seeing the Mystery Box just outside the teleporter room. He went for it again, picking up some Cymbal Monkeys.

 ** _Descending, unrelenting_**

"Where the hell are they?!" Tank demanded, throwing another grenade into the hordes. But then, the zombies abandoned them, running off in the direction of Richtofen and Takeo.

 ** _Beauty of annihilation_**

Richtofen already had an MG42 from his first spin, and now he had a chance for one more spin as Takeo threw the last Cymbal Monkey. Time seemed to slow down as the box continued on its routine cycle, with Richtofen knowing it had to be this time. He was right, as the box presented him with a large gun made of wires and electricity, the Wunderwaffe DG-2.

 ** _Your curiosity_**

Richtofen gave a demonstration of its effects, firing one shot at a nearby fleshbag and watching as the electricity chained the undead together to turn one shot into over thirty kills.

 ** _Feeding off my animosity_**

Richtofen got into the Teleporter with Takeo and activated it, leaving the two back at the mainframe, with another ammo drop appearing across the courtyard.

 ** _And reason_**

Takeo went to get it while Nikolai and Dempsey covered him, leaving Richtofen to the machine. Linking all three teleporters had given him access to the Pack-a-Punch machine, allowing him to upgrade his weapons.

 ** _Is treason_**

Richtofen placed his Wunderwaffe into the Pack-a-Punch machine, giving it a golden camouflage. He then placed his MG42 in there, giving it a red and chrome coat.

 ** _Down with all that's good and clean_**

Richtofen used his new weapons to zap and decimate anything in his path, while Nikolai went to the machine.

 ** _And you can't fucking annihilate me_**

Nikolai placed the PPSh inside, giving it the same red and chrome design as the MG42.

 ** _Bring you down with_**

 ** _Seven point nine two and no impunity_**

What followed next was an onslaught of gunfire into the legions that hoped to slow them down.

 ** _I can see them everywhere, they're_**

 ** _All around me_**

 ** _They're waiting for me_**

 ** _Descending, unrelenting_**

 ** _Beauty of annihilation_**

"It is not slowing down!" Takeo yelled over the roaring guns.

 ** _Death so beautiful_**

"We do not have much time, Richtofen! Use the teleporter!" Nikolai ordered.

 ** _Looks so beautiful_**

"I need more time!" Richtofen countered.

 ** _Death so beautiful_**

"We're gonna have to keep killing then, won't we?!" Tank shouted, reloading the MG.

 ** _Looks so beautiful on me_**

The sounds of screaming and bullets flying everywhere was nothing more than background noise to the four.

Richtofen knew more than the rest, that their work was for the greater good. Takeo was in agreement with him, although Tank was aprehensive about working with him.

Nikolai, on the other hand, couldn't stand him. Richtofen could see that as his upgraded PPSh tore through skull after skull, that Nikolai didn't agree with his plans at all. But he held out. He still had hope. An undying spirit that showed in everything he was passionate about. Regardless of whether or not Richtofen (or the other two) agreed with it, they still respected him.

Someday, Richtofen would win his trust. On that day, the Shadowman would have no chance against him.

But now they needed to get the hell out of here.

 ** _I can see them everywhere_**

Now that everyone was capable of defending themselves, Richtofen set about the next step, calibrating the teleporter.

 ** _I can see them everywhere I go_**

But as for the other three, things were starting to get out of hand. Richtofen decided to hang back and use his MG to help slow down the flow of undead.

 ** _I can see them everywhere, they're_**

Takeo took out his Ragnarok and slammed the ground with them again, clearing up a huge chunk of the population.

 ** _All around me_**

Nikolai blew off the legs of another zombie, hoping to cause a pile up in the middle of the courtyard.

 ** _They're waiting for me_**

Tank had already thrown all his fragmentation grenades, only slowing the masses down for seconds before he had to keep firing.

 ** _I can see them everywhere_**

Richtofen's nerves were starting to go as he realized how little time he was being afforded, rushing to the controls of the teleporter to calibrate it.

 ** _I can see them everywhere I go_**

"What are you waiting for, Richtofen?!" Dempsey yelled over gunfire. Richtofen fumbled his way through the procedure, barely getting the first step done right, before trying to move on.

 ** _I can see them everywhere they're_**

Then he was tackled to the ground by a stray zombie the other three missed, his heart skipping a beast as some fleshy saliva landed on the back of his neck, inches away from certain death. Richtofen quickly turned him around and pushed him off, shooting him through the head with his Mauser.

 ** _All around me they're_**

"We do not have much time!" Nikolai warned as he stopped another zombie from getting to Richtofen. "Of course, I will be finished soon!"

"Better be, or we're all finished!" Tank shot back.

 ** _Waiting for me_**

Richtofen was sweating profusely as he went through the third step, all the possibilities of failure going through his brain at once, each one appearing more like a reality than the last.

 ** _Descending, unrelenting_**

Richtofen finally steadied himself, switch here, press three times, enter access code, press in this order, and...done.

 ** _Beauty of annihilation_**

Takeo had already burned through another magazine by the time Richtofen was finished calibrating the teleporter, though it didn't mean there were no more, or that they were even slowing down.

 ** _Looks like your prophet was mistaken_**

"We're being overwhelmed!" Nikolai shouted back as he kicked another zombie back down the stairs.

 ** _Is life really gone or just been wasted_**

"Hurry, Richtofen!" Dempsey yelled over the roar of machine gun fire, as zombies started to climb up from the sides.

 ** _Death. so. close. that. I. can. taste it._**

"NOW!" Richtofen yelled, shooting the tower with the Wunderwaffe, causing the circuits to go crazy. The other three shot at the undead, just before the crew were blasted through space and time, thankfully away from the overrun facility.

Nikolai was the first to notice the new location. "A jungle?"

"It is a pleasant change of scenery." Takeo admitted. "Although, I cannot see the peace lasting long. We must be wary of the Shadowman."

"The Focusing Stone will be here." Richtofen explained. "We have a little time before the Shadowman finds us."

"You have a lot of explaining to do, German." Nikolai threatened. "I agree." Tank backed him up. "Mind telling us what's going on?"

"Of course." Richtofen nodded. "I will explain in due time."

* * *

Then, that was when Richtofen-

"Eh?!" Richtofen noticed the Kronorium was gone. "But I could have sworn-no, I _did_ have it right now..." He scratched his head. Perhaps he left it at the shrine? Maybe.

As Richtofen made his way back to the shrine, the ordinary magician, Marisa Kirisame, breathed a sigh of relief. "That was easy." She muttered. "Good thing he was so wrapped up in whatever he was doing. Maybe now I'll find out if this book has the answer to everything.

* * *

Work was tough. When you're as violent as Balrog though, you need that kind of job to keep you occupied. Wasn't like he was going to get a job anywhere else.

The job became tougher when he got assigned to take out someone who was even more of a masochist than he was, especially when they took pleasure in it.

Balrog swung at his target again. A Korean woman, with her hair tied back in a weird fashion, like horns on the back of her head.

She also wore a purple and pink catsuit with a black shirt underneath, as well as a black eyepatch over her left eye with magenta designs, though she wasn't missing the eye.

Juri Han was her name, a Taekwondo prodigy, with her already impressive...bah! What the hell did that matter?! All that mattered was that Balrog got the job done.

"Are you trying to miss me?" Juri taunted, kicking Balrog in the head. "Big words comin' from you!" Balrog grunted, launching a Screw Smash uppercut to power through the kick.

Juri jumped out of the way of the punch, leaving Balrog off balance, allowing Juri to come down on his back with a kick that sent him crashing into the ground.

As Balrog turned over to get up, Juri managed to pin him down, getting her legs on Balrog's arms and getting ready to KO him with a series of hard punches.

She bent down, coming face to face with Balrog. He hated that smile she had. It was this creepy sadistic smile that when you see it, you run the other way. As it drew closer though, Balrog got other ideas.

"Guess I'll save-" Juri fell backwards after the surprise headbutt from Balrog, allowing him to get to his feet. It was enough to draw blood and stagger her, but she was still able to resume a fighting stance.

Balrog had the edge though, performing a Violent Buffalo punch combo, setting things up for the finishing blow.

"You won't hear the full ten count!" Balrog yelled, charging up his punch. "Why don't you go to hell?!" He launched the punch, making a solid connection with Juri's gut, enough to seriously wound her, and more imporatantly, wipe that fucking smile off her face.

She was coughing up blood, trying to get to her feet and activate the Feng Shui Engine within her, which Balrog had seen before, and wasn't letting happen.

He quickly grabbed her by the neck and forced her against a nearby wall. Juri coughed up more blood, this time onto his boxing gloves. Good thing they were red. "Damn...what did I do to get Bison to send someone like you after me?" She asked sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood, coughing up a bit more. Noticing that her nose was bleeding too, she licked the stain, moaning in pleasure. Balrog punched her in the side of the head for that before answering.

"I don't get paid to ask questions. Guess he just can't tolerate you." Balrog grunted, conpletely oblivious to the sarcasm. "I don't blame him." Juri then started to smile. Not just any smile, but her smile. The one she got when violence was involved. Balrog took note.

"What the hell's so funny?" He pressed. "I've been watching your boss. If I were you, I'd be looking to get my ass away from here ASAP. He's hired some new goons."

"That didn't stop you before. Usually it made you more happy to destroy whatever he worked on." Balrog countered. "Eh," Juri shrugged "Times change, y'know? I mean, your kid is gone, for a st-" Juri stopped as Balrog tightened his grip on he neck.

He eventually released though, wanting to know what the hell she was talking about. "Let's stay on topic here. Otherwise I'll just finish what I came here to do." He warned. "I'd like to see you try." Juri taunted, before Balrog shot her a dirty look that said 'I mean it.'

"That fucker's got some help. I don't know what kind, but he's using it pretty well. You know him, he's got a lot of people who'd like him not breathing, and he returns the feeling. Now that he's got his help, he's going to-"

"Clean up the streets." Balrog finished the sentence. "Get rid of everyone else." Juri started to laugh. "...Wanna know the best part?" She teased.

Balrog didn't say anything, but she couldn't contain it.

"You're next." Balrog raised an eyebrow. "The hell's that supposed to mean?!" He demanded. "He's got a long list. You must have done something he can't tolerate."

Balrog paused. He didn't care much for Shadaloo, or what they were doing. He just carried out menial tasks for them, and they paid him. But he did know his boss wasn't a forgiving person. He had already sold himself off twice now, and the vicious M. Bison wasn't one to make the same mistake twice.

Juri capitalized on Balrog's lapse in concentration and activated the Feng Shui Engine, then she gave him a strong kick to the gut, sending the boxer crashing through the nearest brick wall.

"See ya in hell!" She laughed as she took off, much faster than the Crazy Buffalo could possibly have hoped to go. "Ngh!" Balrog grunted, picking himself up, frustrated by the escape of his target.

He had a short time to think. Bison had obviously found out about his deal with drill lady. But what did that mean?

"My my. You're thinking. I never imagined I would see that."

Balrog turned around to see his most loathed colleague behind him. He was bare chested, wearing yellow and blue pants held up by a red belt. He also wore a white mask over his face, and a glove on his left hand which sported a long metal claw. He had long blond hair which was braided too.

Vega. "What the hell's it to you?!" Balrog demanded, slightly irked by what Juri had said.

Vega simply shook his head, as if offended by the question. "I was going to tell you that we are on a 'killing spree' if you will."

"Killing spree?"

"But of course! Lord Bison is exacting his revenge on all those who wronged him in the past!"

Another voice chimed. Balrog turned around, mentally dreading the appearance of the man behind the voice. He was a comically beanpole-like man, with a large rimmed hat and shades which concealed his identity. He wore purple robes which appeared to be part of a traditional Chinese garment.

F.A.N.G., or for those who were in a hurry, Fang. Balrog hated him. He was a slimy little shit, a suck up to Bison, and his name was weird. 'Fang', right? No, it was pronounced 'Fong'. What the hell?

"Alright, who's he got so far?" Balrog asked. "Sagat, Killer Bee, Rose, Guile, Nash and Rashid. But there is still more to come." Vega answered. Balrog clenched his fists, ready to lash out at any attackers. "The usual suspects. Ryu, Ken Masters, Chun-Li, Viper, there was another too, who I cannot remember, and then...there was one more I know..."

Balrog was ready for a fight, tensing up his arms. "...I think it was Dhalsim." Balrog loosened up, relieved that he didn't have to fight them after Juri, but he was sill cautious. It wasn't like Vega or Fang needed any motivation to kill him already, but with the new help...no idea what any of it meant, but when your life is at risk, you've gotta try to survive, I guess.

At the same time though, how likely was it that Juri was telling the truth?

Not very likely, was it?

 ** _Author's Note_**

So there's a lot to get to here.

I recently rewatched/read Saya no Uta, and Christ, what an experience. Stuff like that is why we need to build a big wall around Japan. (JK, naturally.) But I like Saya for giving me the excuse to do horrible things to people. (I mean this in the best way possible, not everyone's going to be turned into food by the end.)

I wanted to have more here, with Cole and Booker, as well as Saya and Nemesis, and to introduce Team Fortress. (Another day, I guess :P)

I since bought The Giant for Black Ops III, and I got feels out of it. Really brings me back, y'know? Too bad Richtofen can't hold onto the Kronorium. What's Marisa going to do with it? Only time will tell.

Finally, Street Fighter. After Balrog, Juri's probably my favourite Street Fighter (except for M. Bison) and she'll probably show up again some time. As for M. Bison, he won't be appearing. Only SF characters I plan to have in this fic are the ones in the scene above. Vega and F.A.N.G. are a mixed bunch. I like F.A.N.G. a little more because he's pretty crazy, and I harbour some bad feelings for Vega because I spent hours trying to beat him in SFII. He's pretty cool too though.

Also, I feel I should bring this up, but TJ Combo in this fanfic is 52 years old. Why? I'll explain, don't worry, but I can guarantee you he isn't 30 years old like the KI Wikia claims. There's some ambiguity as to what age he is exactly, but I'll lay out my reasoning now.

First recorded age we have is 12. That's when he gets kicked out of boxing for the first time. He drops out of high school (at about 16), and tries to join the military, ends up moving to Chicago and getting a job at a boxing gym. Five years pass (21) and he develops as a boxer, and gains notoriety.

Five more years pass (26) and TJ wins the heavyweight title, begins a downward spiral thanks to all the fame going to his head. He loses the belt after three years (29) and is left without money, a wife, and is completely out of shape.

Ultratech give him metal arms, and within six months he wins back the title, then holds it for 20 years. (49)

TJ then violates his contract, and Ultratech expose him for it, causing him to be stripped of his title.

He soon sets his life right, and buys a small gym with his remaining funds, and begins to build it up. (I then assume 3 years pass, allowing TJ time to settle down, bringing him to 52.) Then Jago approaches him about joining the Night Guard, KI 2013 happens.

So there you have it, I just thought I'd put that out there, because I will be addressing this in later chapters.


	8. Meet the Team

ARIA looked at the brimstone in her hand. A souvenier from another place, no longer important to her. But she kept it, perhaps hoping to analyze its atomic structure once her enemies were no longer an issue.

But right now, it was. Fortunately she had help, though unconventional, there was a team of individuals who at least were somewhat competent.

"Can't you just create another dimension to seal them in?" ARIA asked. "What would be the point? If they can escape so easily, I would be wasting precious time."

ARIA dismissed the setback. "Very well. But why didn't you do it before?"

"What do you mean?" The Shadowman asked. "Those four. Why didn't you just seal them away?"

"I couldn't. They had Monty on their side, and that was all they needed." He answered.

"Until of course..." The Shadowman nodded. "It matters little. You mentioned they are mortal, and that is all I need. One day, they will crack under pressure, and I will not have to do as much as raising a finger to stop them."

"That's what the hope is. Soon to be a reality."

* * *

"Niko Bellic." Master Chief shook his hand. "Great to have you on board." Chief returned the greeting. "Nick Ramos. You need help, just ask." Nick and Chief shook hands. "A pleasure."

Master Chief had just explained the purpose of the Microsoft Elite to the newcomers,;coaxing them into joining. But now, he was starting to learn the ins and outs of the other members. How their powers may be immense, but their weird personalities made them sometimes insufferable.

"So Rick, you satisfied yet?" The Terror Mask asked. "You know the answer to that question." Rick shot back, with considerable venom in his voice. "Hey, I'm not the one whp decided 'hur dee dur, I'm gonna enter a tournament because I'm sad, hurrrrr' am I, Ricko?"

"Shut up, shut the fuck up! We would have won if it wasn't for you!" He yelled. "Me?! You're hopeless without me!"

Master Chief watched on in amazement as Rick got into a heated arguement with himself.

Cortana was standing beside him, saying nothing, before Chief broke the silence. "Care to explain?" He asked, gesturing to Rick. "Of course. Rick Taylor wears a mask called 'Ther Terror Mask', of unknown origin. One thing I do know is it pushes him far beyond peak human condition. It gives him strength to take out armies, and turns him into a blood fueled psychopath."

"So he's talking to himself because he's stuck with a mask on his face?" Chief asked. Cortana shook her head. "He talks to the mask. It speaks back." Master Chief nodded. "Right. Okay, take me through the other newcomers."

He looked over at Ryu Hayabusa and Kasumi. "Let's see, two ninjas, both competed in the Dead or Alive tournament numerous times, they routinely have to save the world, and...basically, you get the idea."

Finally, he looked over at Alex Mercer. The public enemy was sitting with his back against a large crate, minding his own business, watching his hand as it melted into a black substance and reconstructed as a weapon in the place of his hand.

"Cortana, who's that?" Chief asked. "That's Alex Mercer. He's kind of got some anger issues, but I see him being a vital part of the team. His body is made entirely out of a substance called Biomass, which is why he can reshape his body as he chooses like he did there."

"I see. He must be a freak." Cortana nodded. "He's pretty tough alright. Strong too, not to mention fast and smart. Just hope he's on your side. Otherwise you're gonna be on his backside."

There was an awkward silence as Cortana realized her joke was largely unsuccessful. "Anyway, there's a series of caves not too far from here we've gotta go to. The Jack of Blades should be down there."

"I'll go get everyone then. You take us to the entrance, and we'll go down there and find him."

* * *

Saya pouted. How did that guy recover from he attack? She was always so successful with it, so now shouldn't have been any different. He was a different creature, but the same principle should have applied. Yet it did not.

The Nemesis had since deemed Saya a threat and went his own way, leaving Saya to walk in a nearby forest she found. A forest called the Forest of Magic. It was a weird place, ~with strange creatures that Saya had never seen before, while the ground was covered in exotic fungi.

She was hit in the head by an empty can. Saya spun around to see a bush in the not too far off distance, with stiffled giggles and snickering coming from behind it.

Four normal humans. Teenagers, to be precise. Actually, no. That was a term that meant nothing to her. Though Fuminori...ugh, what did it matter? Saya decided she was going to make her way over to the bush, and have some fun.

The four stood up when she came over, three male and one female. They looked exactly as she had predicted they would, nothing notable. They were probably out here on some stupid dare or something.

Saya knew exactly what she was going to do with them, but first, give them a chance.

"Hey." Saya greeted, giving a small wave. The other four looked at each other strangely and looked back at Saya. "Are you a youkai?" One asked. Saya didn't know what a 'youkai' was, but she didn't seem like one at least. Maybe that was good enough.

"No." She shook her head, not saying anything that might provoke them. "Sounds like something a youkai would say. Out here, this far into the Forest of Magic on your own, you've gotta be at least non-human."

They were right there, but purely by coincidence. Saya was able to recognize that. "Know what that means?" He asked. Saya once again shook her head. "It means we've gotta keep you out of here!" The four started laughing again, pelting Saya with small stones and pieces of rubbish.

It might have appeared a juvenile prank, but Saya only needed that as justification for what she was about to do to them.

"You shouldn't have done that." She said, starting to smile, forcing the teens to feel fear, preventing them from escaping. Saya then morphed back into her original form, completely terrifying the lowly humans, forcing them to scream out for help.

This far out into the Forest of Magic, no one could hear them. Not even when their bodies began to take on a new shape and form could anyone hear their agonized cries for help.

* * *

The caves were pretty creepy. The dead silence was broken only by the occasional water drop leaking down from above, in a series of dimly lit tunnels leading who knows where.

The lighting kind of made it more ominous, as if something had taken up residence down there. Yet despite everything, two brothers had decided to take it upon themselves to venture down there and see what was down there.

They weren't quite human though. They were humanoid, yes, but they looked like they escaped from a 1930's cartoon. The first was the shorter of the two, wearing a black shirt and red shorts with red shoes and white gloves. The strangest thing about him was his head. A cup shaped skull, even with some weird liquid inside it and a red and white striped straw in the cup. He was the one leading the two, while his brother followed.

His brother was almost identical, aside from piece of clothing that was red being blue. His brother was taller than him, but not by much. His head was different too, with the cup being more like a mug, taller and narrower.

Cuphead gestured for his older brother to follow him. Though Mugman had initially suggested the idea, he seemed very aprehensive about every step he took.

"Okay, so now where to?" Cuphead asked, seeing multiple paths leading down multiple tunnels. "Well I don't know." Cuphead turned to his brother. "What do you mean you don't know?" He asked, slightly confused. "I mean I don't know. You were the one who wanted to come down here." Mugman answered.

"But you were the one who said-" "Never mind what I said, now come on. Let's find this treasure so we can go home and live in peace."

The two chose a path on the far left to go down, where there was a small river of water flowing. Seeing the potential dangers, Mugman decided to take charge. "I'll handle this. Do exactly as I do." He instructed. "Say, how come you're so careful now? I'll be okay to lead us down there."

Mugman loved his brother, he really did. But it was also true that the last time he let Cuphead take charge of a situation it almost cost them their souls. He wasn't exactly a genius, Cuphead, and Mugman wasn't making the same mistake twice.

Navigating down the side of the river was tricky. Especially when there was such little area to manoeuvre. "Now now, easy there." Mugman muttered to himself as he tried to keep from falling into the river. All or a sudden, he slipped on a stone not attached to the ground and barely managed to catch himself. Slowly, he got to his feet again, giving off a nervous laugh. "Whew! That was close, eh Cuphead?" No reply. Mugman scratched the rim of his head. "That's strange, I could have-Woah!" Mugman had been grabbed by his brother who was using the stream as a slide, having figured out the bottom of the river was smooth. Cuphead was enjoying himself, having figured out such a simple yet exciting way to get down to the bottom.

He even managed to jump off at exactly the right time, landing perfectly on his feet. "Ah. Good to know there was such an easy way down, eh?" He looked over to Mugman who had face planted the ground, and slowly looked up, and exasperated look on his face. "Can't we do what I suggest for once?" He asked, as if a plea for relief. Cuphead rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, of course. Sorry about that." Mugman quickly shook it off and got up. It was a little brighter down here than it was up there. The two couldn't figure it out for a second, wondering what brought on this suddenly passable lighting. But it wasn't long.

"At least we can see what we're doing." Cuphead muttered. He then looked at his brother, who was staring slack jawed at something. "Mugman, what are you-" He looked over. Then he did a double take. So much...it seemed like a gold mine down here, with all the money down here. Not just a gold mine, but a ruby mine, an emerald mine, a diamond mine, even some metals the brothers weren't sure existed.

After staring for a second, the brothers raced off towards the riches, hoping to take as much as they could for themselves, like two dogs who'd just heard the words "Din-dins". But as the two brothers leapt through the air towards the pile, something shot through it. A man, about the same height as Cuphead, wearing Indiana Jones gear with a comically big pink nose was soaring through the air in the opposite direction, straight towards Cuphead. He only had a second to react before the explorer struck him in the head and knocked him out of the air. Mugman was sent into a panic, rushing over to his brother as he hit the ground. "Cuphead!" He shouted, trying to provoke a reaction. "Ugh. Well, we did things your way. Can't blame me for that." Cuphead muttered as he recovered. Mugman looked on top of the pile to see the culprit standing on top. It was a knight. Wearing a sky blue armour, and having horns on either side.

But his weapon was his most defining feature. Most knights would have used a sword or maybe an axe or a mace or something, anything but a shovel. The knight with a shovel brandished his unconventional weapon, as a clear warning to stay away from the claimed treasure.

"You think you'll get me with that?!" Mugman taunted, rolling up nonexistant sleeves. "I'll see that you pay for this, you petty thief!"

* * *

An industrial site served as the battleground for nine mercenaries against a team of dinosaurs and robots. Team Fortress decided after a long time fighting over a single plot of land that they were wasting their time. Another paycheck also good incentive.

They were an odd team no doubt, a German madman, an Australian hitman, a Russian gun lover, a French spy, three Americans who represented Boston, Dallas and somewhere in rural Kansas, a Black one-eyed Scottish man, and a pyromaniacal lunatic from...probably hell.

"Let's move out, men!" The Kansas born man yelled. The team knew him to be the self-proclaimed leader who no one ever challnged, partly out of fear and partly out of respect. He was the Soldier of the group.

He started firing rockets at nearby Fulgore units, blowing them up with single shots.

A lone Riptor was closing in on the Soldier, until it was stabbed through the back of the head with a small knife. Every group needed its brains, and with The Spy, Team Fortress had that. "So things are as usual..." He muttered. "Good."

All of a sudden, a pack of Riptors raced by, chasing a red blur as it raced across the site. He had always been the runt of the litter, but that only meant he was more experienced in standing up for himself. The Scout was the every man of the group, someone people could look up to. Also a ladies man.

He had just finished off the last one chasing him with his baseball bat, scoring a clean strike across the head. Then he looked to the horizon to see a whole fleet of Fulgores coming to attack.

"Oh that's just great!" The Scout pouted. "Hey, big fella!" He whistled, giving the cue for the heavy weapons expert to come crashing through piles of materials, firing his minigun at the combat droids to blow them up before they could even get within attacking distance. Every gun oriented team needed its own gun loving muscle bound stoic, and The Heavy embodied that to a tee.

Until of course they started firing missiles. The Heavy grunted and staggered backwards as the rockets started to harm him. "Augh!" He cried out. "I need Medic!"

"You work up such a fuss, mein freund." The Medic laughed as he began to heal the oversized Russian. Not much could be said about the Medic that wasn't immediately obvious, he was German, and a doctor, which meant he probably a few sandwiches short of a picnic, and had lost his license long before he joined Team Fortress. But still, at least he did his job pretty well, however unconventionally. "Here, I will give you help!" He then fired a weird red beam at the Heavy, making him feel rejuvenated. The missiles started to lose their effect as the Heavy entered a berserker like rage, firing at the now seemingly helpless Fulgores. Soon, only one was left, carefully camouflaged from the raging behemoth, ready to ambush him with lightning quick- he didn't get that far, as a bullet went through his head.

Some way away from the battlefield, the Australian was reloading his sniper. While rushing into battle head first was fun and all, you needed to have some diversity in your playbook. The Sniper felt like he added that to the team where it was much needed. "Not bad eh?" He asked. The Texan beside him looked up. "What? Oh yeah, that ain't bad." He wasn't paying attention, more focused on tuning his banjo. That was the Engineer. A soft spoken man, probably the most humble of the team, relying on his many gizmos and gadgets to help him survive. His turrets were creating an impenetrable fortress around him, decimating anything hostile that got too close.

Then there was an explosion. "Heh, guess they're finishing up." The Sniper chuckled.

The Demoman had just obliterated a warehouse, leaving it in a pile of burning wood and ash and killing almost all of the Fulgores and Riptors. "Well, I think that should conclude our business here." The Spy muttered, surveying the area. "Aye. But not before we get them few over there." The Demoman pointed to a few Riptors on the other side of a fiery wall. Every team had its tragic story, and with the scotsman, they got that.

"I suggest we let-" The Spy was cut off as the mask wearing maniac with a fire axe jumped through the flames screaming and cheering as he hunted down the Riptors like his prey. Not much could be said for him, but the group knew that The Pyro was a psychopath. As he chased the terrified Riptors, the rest of the team regrouped.

"Another job well done, gentlemen!" Soldier saluted his fellow allies. "Alright, so we head back to base and wait for pay?"

Spy shook his head. "We must-" They were cut off by a slow applause. Turning around to see it, Scout came dangerously close to passing out.

"Not bad, gentlemen." Green Heart applauded as she landed behind them. "I knew I made the right choice in hiring you. Now, I need you to come back with me so I can give you your next assignment."

"We are still getting paid, yes?" Spy quizzed. "But of course. You think I would be so cheap?" Green Heart raised her eyebrow, highly offended.

"Not at all!" Scout interjected before anyone else could say anything. Spy of course had seen him making sure he looked good before, which only meant one thing. Hilarity was sure to ensue.

"Besides, it's not every day that I get to see a girl as beautiful as you, y'know what I mean? Must be such a relief to finally meet a lady's man too, eh? But anyway, let's skip-"

Scout was punched back by Green Heart, straight into the Heavy's arms. "Save it. I'm your new boss, not your girlfriend." Scout was still too dazed to reply, allowing Spy to attempt engaging in an intellectual conversation.

"I apologize for...that." He began, glancing over at Heavy, giving him and the other members a subtle instruction to make sure Scout stayed that way.

"What do you want?" He asked, getting to the big point. "Well, look. First of all, you won't be staying at your own base." She informed them. "You'll have to come with me if you want to live."

That was what made Spy drag the team aside for a moment.

The team were skeptical. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea." Medic suggested.

The others looked around. When Medic thought it was a bad idea, it was time to listen. "I say we go with her. For now." Engineer suggested. "Worst comes to worst, I'll just build us a teleporter."

"It might not be as easy as that." Spy countered. "We go." Heavy interjected. "There are..." he paused to count on his fingers. "thirteen!" Soldier concluded. "Nine." Heavy corrected him. "of us. We outnumber her."

"Numbers are not always everything." Spy warned. "We should be cautious."

"We take a vote." Medic suggested. "Very well." Spy agreed. "Those in favour of leaving, raise your hand."

Medic, Spy, Sniper and Demoman raised their hands. "I see, and all those in favour of going with this character?" Heavy, Engineer, Soldier and a dazed Scout raised their hands.

"A tie." Spy muttered. "Well, in that event-" "Five!" Heavy cheered, pointing behind Spy. Spy turned around to see Pyro, soaked in blood and with his hand raised high, showing off the decapitated Riptor head in his hands. "You cannot be serious, he doesn't even-" But the team had already moved on, towards Green Heart.

"Sacré bleu..." He muttered, walking off to join the rest of the team. It seemed as though he would just have to remain on his toes.

* * *

"Hey, Chief." Cortana appeared to John once again. "Yeah? We're almost ready to leave for the caves." Chief raised his eyebrow, wondering what Cortana had next. "I've got another recruit for your team."

"Still your team." Chief corrected her. "I thought you said you'd lead the team." Cortana raised an eyebrow. "I know, I'm just having some fun. Anyway, you want to introduce me to this guy, yeah?"

"That's what I came here for." Cortana nodded. "He's down this way, in his own quarters."

A 1920's policeman sat on his bed, contemplating what had happened over the past few days. It had been an experience, no doubt, though he was already pretty shaken up in life so far.

Jack Walters was the final remnant of a universe destroyed by the Shadowman, who did so as casually as one might wipe away the dust on an old book before reading it. Not that he cared for such a cold and unforgiving place. It was probably the closest the Apothicon leader had ever come to doing a service for the universe.

Now, he was left in a predicament, facing the destroyer of his universe without a clear idea as to who he was. All he had, was a stone. A small stone, but a strange one. It was a regular rock for the most part, until you saw the glowing blue spots coming out of it from all angles. It was always warm, and sometimes, prolonged exposure made him feel sick. He had only found the stone a week ago, and now, it was the only thing he had in this crazy world.

But what did it mean, if anything at all? Maybe It was as meaningless as his existence. Maybe. But when the man in the green suit came in and told him about a group trying to save the world, he knew one thing.

Not much had changed.

 ** _Author's Note_**

Cuphead and Mugman are a strange duo. I'm going to try and portray them as the 30's cartoon caricatures they are, but I'm also drawing inspiration from the best comedy act of the decade, Laurel and Hardy. I could go on for hours about those two, but keeping it brief, I'd highly recommend their works to anyone who hasn't seen them. Timeless.

But either way, I intend to have the brothers as less serious, because I already have enough serious characters. I hope to get a few more light hearted guys in soon, but for now, the brothers must carry the burden themselves.

So why hasn't Jack's world merged with the others? Partly because that would've meant including more elements of Lovecraft, and I honestly didn't want to do that.

I hoped to update sooner, but I got Discord recently and have been fishing for dank memes (Also, I'm hooked on the new KI comics). I'm playing Touhou Kobuto V as well, and that might partially be only because the platinum looks pretty easy. Still trying to beat the Origins EE too, and well, vent incoming, I'll give a little space and put the whole thing in bold if you don't want to read it (and you probably shouldn't.).

 **FUUUUUCCCKKCKCKDAMNSHITMOTHERFUCKINGSTAFFSANDRECORDSANDPLANESANDSOMEDUDEINAFUCKINGSUITFUCKINGYOURSHITUPOUTTOMAKEYOURLIFEMISERABLEALLFORSOMEDUMBASSBITCHLITTLEGIRLSTUCKSOMEWHEREWHENSHEISNTREALLYSTUCKBUTJUSTMAKESYOUJUMPTHROUGHHOOPSFORHERAMUSEMENTFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKTHISSONOFABITCHGAMEHASTAUNTEDMEFORFOURYEARSANDINFOURYEARSIVENEVEREVENCOMECLOSETOBEATINGTHISBULLSHIT**

I'm done now, feeling much better. Now do I have anything else to say?

Oh yeah, Saya. Now, I'll say it first, body horror disgusts me. Not because it's the intent of the movies that use it, but because the movie generally rides off it. I'm not going to give names for movies that make me hate the genre, because I don't think they deserve any more publicity, and you already know what they are.

But for Saya, I believe it to be slightly more interesting. Not entirely showing what happens to the victims was a very clever move that elevates Saya no Uta above cheap gore. Expect those poor teens to show up in later chapters, where I deviate a little with Saya's species and their capablities.

Aside from that my doods, I have little else to say.

Until next time!


	9. Changing Pace

"Come on, Banjo! We need to do something!" A small bird pestered her honey bear companion. "Do we have to?" Banjo asked, opening one of his eyes and raising his eyebrow. "Yes!" The bird sqwuaked, angrily flapping her wings.

"Alright, Kazooie. I guess we could go to the top of Spiral Mountain again." Banjo conceded, slowly getting to his feet. "Again?" Kazooie seemed opposed to the idea. "Well, you wanted to go somewhere." Banjo countered. "Somewhere new!" Kazooie corrected herself. "It's boring, day after day of being here. It puts me to sleep!"

"Evidently not." Banjo muttered. "Alright," he sighed "we'll go somewhere new."

So they were soon on their feet and off on an adventure, going on a forest path which didn't seem to lead anywhere. The dirt path through the place was wide and spacious, never covered or shaded by the trees on either side. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and there was a gentle cool breeze, making the green leaves on the trees gently rustle.

"Feels great to be out on such a fine day, eh Banjo?" Kazooie nudged Banjo, hoping to get an agreement. "I prefer sleep." Banjo yawned, before stretching his arms and getting on his way again. Kazooie wanted him to speed up, but even then she was very limited in how fast she could go. Kazooie always rested on top of Banjo's blue backpack, as she couldn't fly for very long without having to stop for a rest. She still helped Banjo, using her wings to shield him from harm, acting as a weapon for the bear and of course, carrying him over objects and gaps he couldn't jump over.

Banjo, on the other hand, was more about raw strength. He was arguably faster, tougher and stronger, he could swim and climb, and well, he was a bear.

"So where are we going, anyway?" Banjo asked, looking to his feathered companion. Kazooie shrugged. "I don't know."

"You don't?" Banjo seemed slightly worried. "Nope. I just wanted to go on a trip. I'll find our way back, don't you worry." Banjo then waved it off, confident in Kazooie to do that, but mostly wanting to avoid confrontation. "Alright, I guess we'll walk for a bit more, then we'll call it a-" "Banjo, look out!"

"Banjo!" Kazooie exclaimed, flying to her friend. "Are you okay?" She asked, watching Banjo shake off the blow. "Ugh. I'll be fine, but who was that?"

"Guess who?"

The duo looked to their assaulter, a familiar sight no doubt. With a robe over his miniscule frame and an old monitor for a face, the Lord of Games made his way over to the duo.

"Hey, it's L.O.G.!" Kazooie exclaimed, shocked at the sudden attack. "L.O.G.?" Banjo couldn't believe it. "But why? I thought we were on good terms?"

L.O.G. laughed. "How could we possibly be on good terms? I thought you knew I was the Lord of Games!"

"Well...yeah, but what has that got to do with anything?" Banjo asked. "Let's see...I'm supposed to be the Lord of Games, yes? As an industry. But pray tell me then, why am I confined to an utterly pedestrian sequel to a game everyone stopped caring about in the mid 2000's on a platform where it should never have been released?!"

"Well, first off, we pay good money for the fourth wall, and-" "SILENCE!" L.O.G. shrieked. "It's all the fault of that bitch!" He fumed. "If it weren't for her, I would at least be the ruler of Microsoft! Not a side character in a game with a bear, a bird and a witch!"

"Sounds like you've got a lot of anger issues there pal." Banjo continued, seemingly oblivious to the outburst of L.O.G.. "Banjo!" Kazooie hissed, trying to get him to stop, or at least pay attention to what was going on.

"Very well. I'll finish you off now."

Banjo grabbed Kazooie and the two got ready to attack the Lord of Games. Banjo fired an egg, but he was able to counter by bringing up a polygonal shield to block the projectiles. "You insult me with such pitiful attacks!" He scoffed, sending one of his many arms after the duo. Kazooie's reactions were on point though, as she managed to shatter the arm with one peck. It disintegrated, but the L.O.G. didn't seem at all irritated by it. He simply pressed on, charging up another attack and sending three arms after the duo. Banjo jumped back and grabbed Kazooie, shooting two of the arms, but missing a third which proved to be a costly error.

The arm grabbed his legs out from underneath him with incredible strength, despite them being so brittle and dragged him towards the L.O.G. for the finishing blow. Banjo held onto Kazooie who was barely even able to slow down Banjo on his way towards certain death. "Hold on, Banjo..." Kazooie grunted, her claws creating tracks in the ground as they were dragged along. "Ugh. Go for the arm!" Banjo instructed. "Try and break it!"

BANG!

Banjo's prayers were answered as the arm shattered and he was able to get away. "I came at the right time, didn't I?" The gunman joked. Well, gun-squirrel to be exact. He had bright orange fur and blue eyes, looking very much like a children's mascot, wearing a blue hoodie too. But the assault rifle in his hands kind of ruined that look, combined with the military helmet.

Conker was a good friend of both Banjo and Kazooie, however, he was quite...vulgar by comparison. Conker was an alcoholic, smoked, swore like a sailor, and was incredibly violent for a squirrel. Though whenever he was around those two, he somehow was able to put it all aside.

"I'll say!" Banjo replied. The three began running again, with Banjo using Kazooie and Conker using his assault rifle to keep any arms away from them. "So who is this guy anyway?!" Conker questioned, reloading his assault rifle. "An old friend!" Kazooie answered. Conker scoffed. "Maybe you should find some new friends then!"

Kazooie gave a slight eye roll before she fired another egg at another arm. Banjo was going to get his wish anyway. They were already halfway home and they weren't slowing down anytime soon.

Until an outstretched arm caught them. Conker managed to jump over it himself, and Kazooie flew over it, but Banjo tripped, and was caught in the arm. "Banjo!" Kazooie cried out, flying off to help her friend, only to be smacked away by another arm.

As she fell to the ground, Conker took aim and fired, only to be blocked by a polygonal shield. "What?!" Conker dropped the empty gun. "Don't tell me you've never seen anyone block bullets, squirrel." The Lord of Games taunted. "Now, as for you Banjo, I think-"

Then the arm exploded into pieces after another gunshot. The Lord of Games was surprised as Banjo fell to the ground and retreated, but he retracted all his arms again, not wanting to exert himself on a small, plucky opponent. Conker had picked up his gun and reloaded, but that wasn't where

A skeleton. He was dressed like a western style cowboy, with spurs on his boots, a poncho, gloves that had those stupid things hanging off of them, a cowboy hat, and most importantly, twin revolvers that were in his hands, out of their holsters. His skull looked weird too, like one of those charro skeletons from Mexico.

"And who might you be?" The L.O.G. demanded, sticking his non-existent nose up at the gunman. "Just a minute there." He spoke, with a heavy southern accent. "What do you think you're doing, picking on those smaller than yourself? Think you can just do that for your kicks?"

The Lord of Games laughed. "I supposed so. But you make it seem unwarranted and cruel. I only deal out punishment to those deserving of it."

"So you're one of those kind..." The skeleton muttered. "Well either way, I'd like to know what their sins are before we continue."

"Isn't it obvious?" L.O.G. sneered. "They defied me not once, but twice! Imagine the nerve!" The skeleton readied his revolvers. "That don't seem like a crime to me. Now, because you ain't done nothing to 'em yet, I'll let ya off with a warning."

The other three watched, with Conker taking aim for another shot in case things got out of hand. "I'd count my blessings if I were you. Normally I shoot first, ask questions later.

"GAH!" The L.O.G. cringed before retracting all his arms and clutching his chest. "Y-you!" He spluttered, shocked and horrified he had been undone so easily.

"I'm giving you five seconds to get the hell outta here, boy!" The skeleton snapped, keeping his revolvers raised. The L.O.G. scoffed. "Hmph! Expect me soon..." He grumbled, leaving just before the skeleton started firing.

"Damn. Got away..." He sighed, slightly disappointed. Then he turned to the other three. "You folks alright?" They all nodded. "I'm fine, thanks. Good thing you showed up when you did though." Banjo laughed. "Well, that's just it, isn't it? I was meant to be here for that reason, and for that reason I was here. Works out, don't it?"

Conker shrugged. "Eh, I guess. But who was that guy?"

"I've seen him before." The skeleton replied. "Doing nothing but strutting around the place, all high and mighty. Nice to take him down a peg, so I appreciate you folks showing up to distract him."

Conker brushed it off. "Anyway, we didn't get a name." He reminded the skeleton. "A name..." He muttered. "Well, tell you the truth, I ain't sure I got a name. But I got one nickname to make up for that." Banjo and Kazooie were already getting ready to move on, when the skeleton revealed. "Call me The Gunstringer."

* * *

There was something unnatural going on in Gensokyo. That was obvious to anyone who set foot there, as it wasn't meant to be accessed freely by those from outside. Nevertheless, it was obvious something had gone horribly wrong, and now anyone could get there simply by walking.

For the youkai high above Gensokyo, this was especially concerning.

She had purple eyes and long blonde hair with many lace bows and other accessories in it, as well as a pale pink mob cap with a red lace ribbon around it, and a western style purple dress. She also carried a pink parasol around, and was seemingly standing on nothing.

Yukari Yakumo was the most powerful youkai to ever exist. No question about it, she reigned supreme. Though she didn't abuse that power, she tried to keep things to some order.

This meant the creation of barriers. Barriers that kept Gensokyo from the outside world, for instance, however, that had obviously been shattered. What was worse, there was another gap that was going to be breached. One that, when breached, would have far more devastating consequences than could be imagined.

She needed assistance, and that meant going to the Hakurei Shrine. Some things had been happening at the Scarlet Devil Mansion too, in fact, Gensokyo had been thrown into disarray, and it didn't seem to be getting any better.

"My, my. Feeling the pressure?" The voice from behind taunted. Yukari turned to see the Shadowman, floating out to meet her while surrounded by the orange glow. "I wouldn't have pegged you to be the first to cave in."

"I will not give you such satisfaction." Yukari responded, calm as ever. The Shadowman chuckled. "They all said that once. But were they correct? I'm not sure, they didn't live to find out."

"Pray tell me though, why must you open another barrier?" Yukari pressed, looking for answers. The Shadowman was more than happy to explain, though nothing fazed Yukari.

"I understand you know about this. Barriers separate plains of existence. Once a barrier falls, you can have two completely different worlds colliding, or have two of the same species under different circumstances interact. Either way, I need this power."

Yukari scoffed. "To merge more dimensions for you to conquer?" She quizzed. The Shadowman shook his head. "If I am to survive and win this war, which I believe I will be, I feel it would be highly beneficial to have my army at my side. Flesh eating corpses are fine, but they come apart a little too easily. With my proper army by my side, I would be unstoppable. But such are things that my army lies elsewhere, in another dimension. I'll soon have it though. You being the person who should want to keep these barriers in place, I find it very concerning."

Yukari shook her head. "I understand. But you must realize the futility of your actions. I am no pushover."

"I never believed any such rumour for even a second." The Shadowman countered. "But if you believe I have made so much progress by going up against easy opponents and using underhanded tactics, then-" "I'd be correct." Yukari finished the sentence. The Shadowman couldn't really argue with that, so he just shrugged before continuing. "I will give you hell. You may mark my words, Ms. Yakumo."

With that, he was gone. Keeping her calm was something Yukari specialized in though, and now wasn't any different. All she had to do was go to the Hakurei shrine, in the hope that it was still there.

Reimu was, in fact, at the Hakurei shrine. Going about her duties as Shrine Maiden, Yukari felt the need to give advice to Reimu, saying how she could have been doing this better, or a little more enthusiasm there would have-no. It wasn't important right now.

She floated down to ground level, still floating, and waited for Reimu to notice her. But she didn't. Reimu would move all around the shrine, go inside and then come back out, but she never noticed Yukari. With a sigh of annoyance, the youkai clapped her hands, startling Reimu.

"Huh?!-wha?!-oh..." Reimu breathed a sigh of relief seeing Yukari, thankful it wasn't someone who had come to attack her. At least, she didn't have a reason to.

"Yukari Yakumo. What brings you here?" Reimu asked. "You should know what brings me here, Reimu." Yukari answered, remaining cool as ever. "The barriers around Gensokyo, well, they are no more."

"I figured as much. But why?" Yukari rubbed the back of her head. "A very long story, Reimu. It involves a being known as the Shadowman, then there's the other barriers that need protecting, to put it concisely, you will be needed to repair the barrier around Gensokyo until I can figure out what's going on."

Reimu didn't seem put down about it, though she showed concern for Yukari. "Are you sure about this?"

"I understand you may consider it to be quite the workload, but-" "Oh no, not what I was talking about." Reimu corrected her. "There's quite a few people here who could help out." Yukari looked at her funny, before putting two and two together. "Are they from other dimensions?" Reimu paused and thought about it. "I guess you could say that. I mean, I don't know how else I'd describe it."

"Any of them I can speak to?" Yukari asked.

"That would be me." Yukari turned to see Green Heart in all her glory, standing at her height too, off the ground. "Who, might I ask, is this?" Yukari inquired, knowing that she was from another dimension. "This is Green Heart." Reimu explained. "A long story, but she's helping us fight back against all those invaders." Yukari nodded, never taking her eyes off Green Heart who returned the stare.

"So you're Green Heart, yes?" Green Heart nodded. "Goddess of Leanbox. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Yukari stopped. A Goddess? Well, things had gotten interesting. Maybe someone powerful enough to repair barriers? No. Yukuri was getting ahead of herself. But still, she knew so little about these other dimensions that trying to comprehend anything just lead to more confusion. For all she knew, Green Heart, or anyone else that had since entered their world could have been responsible for the whole thing, and the Shadowman merely being a pawn.

She would just have to wait and see.

* * *

Mugman was exhausted. Shovel Knight had already weakened him considerably, and had taken very little damage on his own in the process. It demoralized him, but knowing his brother needed help, Mugman perservered.

As Shovel Knight lunged in for the finishing blow, he was shot out of the air by a small energy shot. Mugman wheeled around to see Cuphead up on his feet, as well as the Indiana Jones lookalike.

"Whew! What a nice break. Thanks for keeping me safe, brother!" With that, Cuphead jumped back into the fray, fighting Shovel Knight by staying just out of his reach and firing energy shots at him. The knight was agile though, and he was able to use his shovel as a pogo stick to jump over any incoming shots.

But the knight was up against two other enemies too, in Mugman and the explorer, who took out a shotgun and aimed it him, waiting to get a good shot in. Shovel Knight would have probably been knocked out, until what happened then and there.

They were all cut off by the sound of a shotgun firing repeatedly. They turned to see the culprit being stopped by someone behind him. Behind them, they had an entire team at their disposal. Wonder what they wanted?

"That'll do, Doomguy." Chief placed his hand on the rogue soldier's shoulder, getting him to stop. "My pleasure." He grunted. With that, he jumped down to the level where the treasure was, followed by the rest of his team.

"Master Chief." He started to explain himself. "Glad to meet you." He went over to the brothers and shook both their hands, as well as the hands of Shovel Knight and the explorer.

"Cuphead, Mugman, Shovel Knight and Spelunker, yeah?"

The four were stunned. They looked around at each other, wondering which one of them had told him what their names were. But none of them knew.

"How come you know our names?" Spelunker asked, baffled by Chief's calm attitude.

That was when Cortana appeared before the four. "Basically, we need all of you." She started.

A brief explanation later, and the four now knew what the Microsoft Elite was, and really didn't take much tiding over, much to Cortana's relief.

"Behind all this stuff, there should be a door." Chief explained, walking up to the mound of riches. "Now we need to get this out of the way. Hey, Mercer, think you could get rid of-"

Chief was already beaten to the punch by an overenthusiastic Shovel Knight, jumping in without much thought and clearing the way, keeping as much of the riches as possible for himself. Cuphead and Mugman managed to steal some too, and before long, they had cleared the pile, leaving a large stone door in its place. After trying it once, Chief realized it wasn't opening and turned to the Elite. He had a plan, but it was pretty crazy...and dangerous.

But hey, what the hell?

"Okay, go crazy." Chief instructed Doomguy, who was all too happy to take out the BFG-9000 and obliterate the door within seconds.

"Don't you think that was a tad excessive?" Shepard asked Chief as the group walked through the opening. "Maybe." Chief conceded. "But hey, it worked."

Walking inside the chamber which had been opened, the group noticed that it was warmer than the rest of the caves. Maybe someone was already here? Who knew? There was a stone sculpture of a man wearing a hood with a sword driven into a stone in front of him, and people all around him, kneeling at his feet. It was like something you would see in a Cathedral, very well done, and well preserved. This place was littered with riches too, and only then did the Elite realize that they were offerings to the Jack.

"This is the Jack of Blades?" Jack Cooper asked, under the impression that he would still be alive. "Yes. Sorry he's a little more...made out of stone, than you were expecting. I'll fix him." Cortana walked forward to the stone sculpture, with her usually blue hand glowing green as she touched it.

The wave of green shot through the tomb, causing it to rumble as the stone around the statue cracked. "Get ready!" Cortana warned. "He's not gonna be happy!"

The arms came free first, with the figure slowly flexing every finger. Then his legs, while his feet remained encased.

His torso slowly became more and more uncovered, revealing the clothes underneath which he wore to be in remarkable condition.

Finally, his face was freed, leaving him to bust his feet and sword out of their moulds by himself. He then stepped off the shrine and began to walk slowly, evidently having not done so for quite some time, but he soon got the hang of it. He tightened his grip on his sword when he saw so many in the chamber with him, though not out of fear, but out of annoyance.

The red hood and large sword were his staples, showing who he was, and the respect he commanded.

His first words were proof of that.

"Who dares to wake the Jack of Blades?"

 ** _Author's Note_**

The biggest challenge I faced when writing this chapter was giving L.O.G. abilities that suited his character, and then I remembered Arceus' pokedex entry for some reason and went 'fuck it, that'll do' and there you have it.

Also, Yukari. I said earlier that I was going to have Touhou as one of the main series I focused on for this fic, and this is me fulfilling that promise, hoping to broaden the appeal a little and get some plot devices to write about (seriously though, thanks ZUN. The plots just write themselves.). I also enjoy seeing characters from different series interact, and I went with Yukari on power alone to introduce here, because I believe this is who the Shadowman would set his sights on.


	10. Reunited at last

Yukari observed the Microsoft Elite. A strange crowd, and she had been handed a list by Green Heart.

-Agent 47

-Alan Wake

-Balrog

-Dr. Edward Richtofen (w/ Tank Dempsey)

-Glacius

-Hisako

-Jago

-Marisa Kirisame

-Orchid

-Reimu Hakurei

-Team Fortress (9 Members)

-TJ Combo

"Is this all?" Yukari asked. "Probably not." Green Heart answered. "More of them could be out there, and I just don't know it." Yukari raised an eyebrow. "I thought you told me this was an army assembled completely by chance?"

"It is. But from a select pool of potential soldiers. I'll explain once we have more members." Green Heart brushed it off, not thinking anything of the question. "I have more pressing matters to attend to right now. If you will, could you possibly take charge for a short time?" She asked.

Yukari was surprised by the sudden loading of the responsibility onto her shoulders. "Excuse me? I have things to-" "It's to save the world, Yukari. Not just Gensokyo. Do this and you'll be happy you still have a land to protect."

Before Yukari could answer, Green Heart flew off, leaving Yukari with the Microsoft Elite. They were all scattered across the human village, the shrine, and everywhere else in between, but Yukari still decided that was the best thing to do.

Flying off the find them, she knew the first thing she did was going to be having a meeting.

The group were skeptical of Yukari, not entirely trusting a new person who was supposed to lead them, introduced by another new face who was supposed to lead them. A poorly handled situation.

"Well, if we're going to be doing anything, I suggest we have a meeting." Yukari opened, feeling all eyes on her, as if they were trying to eat through her. Not that much pressure for someone like herself, but still not pleasant.

"I'm not sure the shrine could take another meeting..." Reimu muttered. "Aw, it shouldn't be too much trouble." Engineer spoke up. "I'll build us a little makeshift meeting room, won't be a minute."

"Alright, first things first, who are you?" Alan asked. "I am Yukari Yakumo. I am essentially the ruler of this place." Though he knew that this was a debatable claim, even knowing nothing about the place, Alan pressed on. "Right, so you're the Goddess? If so, what can you do?"

"More or less." Yukari conceded the claim wasn't exactly right, but continued. "I manipulate boundaries. I can create barriers in reality, separating dimensions from one another for the well being of each and every one. This place, Gensokyo, was once separated from the rest of the world in a similar fashion, until you showed up. Now everything's been thrown into chaos."

"Oh." Alan stood back. "My apologies, in that case." Yukari shook her head. "It is not directly your fault. The blame lies on others."

* * *

Cole finished cuffing Booker before standing up and trying to figure out what to do with them. He was almost certain he wasn't in Los Angeles anymore, and even if he was, something surely would have affected it in such a way that made it impossible for him to do his job.

He could go off and look for the nearest settlement and then bring back help, but that meant leaving them alone, and that could only end so well.

He could try taking them with him, but that meant leaving the girl alone too, as he would have to carry her, and even then, she could wake up and see Cole with a gun pointed at two handcuffed people. He had taken her knife, meaning she couldn't kill him then and there, but a momentary distraction for those two would be all they needed.

Cole knew that from the fight they had. It was really bizzarre, like it took place in a seperate world. He shot them both, which he thought may have killed them, but he was relieved to find that they survived, and somehow, had no bullet wounds. Neither did he, despite being hit numerous times. He would have to chalk it up to another mystery surrounding the circumstances he was in; Something he could not explain.

"Ugh..."

Cole looked down at the girl as she began to stir, slowly moving her arms to attempt to force herself up. Cole knelt down and helped her.

"Take it easy." Cole advised. "I found you here on your own, asleep. Are you okay?"

The girl stared wide eyed at him. "I...I..."

"Wa-wa-wat...watash..." Cole recognized it by pure chance to be 'Watashi'. So this girl was Japanese? Fortunately for her, Cole knew Japanese from his days in Okinawa.

"It's alright young lady." He spoke to her, trying to help her relax, continuing the conversation in Japanese. "I'm here to help. Can you tell me your name?"

The girl was taken aback by Cole's fluent Japanese, still staring wide eyed and slack jawed.

"...madotsuki..."

So Madotsuki was her name? Cole didn't know the etymology behind that name, but he found it to be quite intriguing. "That's a nice name. Can you tell me where we are?"

Madotsuki looked around before shaking her head. "I see. Well, looks like we're both in this together." He then pointed to Booker and Elizabeth. "Do you know who these people are?" He asked. Madotsuki shook her head again. "I understand. Are you feeling okay? You don't feel sick or weak or anything like that?"

Inside Madotsuki's mind, she knew she wasn't physically ill. But mentally, she was a wreck. Crippling social anxiety, depression and not very subtle demons in the back of her head gave her enough trouble without a physical illness being thrown in on top of everything else.

She then remembered. Her death. She had just-Madotsuki checked her body for injuries. She pressed different parts to make there were no bruises. Nothing. It was as if those events...never happened...strange...

"Excuse me?" Cole brought her back down to earth. "How old are you?" He asked, atill remaining soft spoken. "16..." Madotsuki sighed. Cole raised an eyebrow, but saw no reason to accuse her or lying.

Still, she was pretty skinny for a 16 year old, as Cole had previously noted. It didn't appear to be hurting her though, so he left it alone.

But Cole did have one pressing question. He took out the bloody knife. "I found this in your hands." He explained. Madotsuki stared at it wide eyed for all of a moment before looking up at Cole, words still not forming.

Cole stared back into her eyes, which were a lovely brown. They had a relaxed and easy charm about them which gave them hypnotic qualities. There was something most ceratainly strange about that. But he asked anyway.

"Did you cut anyone with this?" Cole asked. He seemed to have hit a switch in Madotsuki's head or something, because the girl went wide eyed and started repeatedly shaking her head back and forth. Cole had interrogated enough people to recognize when someone was lying. Now was such a case.

"Madotsuki, someone could be seriously hurt. Or dead. I need to know." She still maintained that horrified look, as if he was uncovering more and more.

Cole, on the other hand, began to feel alienated by the strange reactions. They suggested she was hiding something, but yet, not that she murdered anyone. She evidently had neither the strength nor the conviction to do so. Maybe it was the only weapon she had to defend herself in this forest, and had already had to use it. That was a possibility.

"Did you see any other people?" Madotsuki shook her head. "Any...animals?" Madotsuki shook her head again. She was shaking her head so much that Cole was surprised it didn't just fall off.

"Madotsuki." Cole hardened his tone a little, just enough to hopefully get through to the troubled girl. "I need you to be honest with me. Tell me what happened."

"Y-y-y-you wouldn't believe me..." She whispered, just loud enough for Cole to hear. "Try." Was Cole's response.

Madotsuki finally stopped shaking her head, relaxing as she looked into Cole's eyes. "The Demon..." Madotsuki whispered, a little louder, just so Cole could hear. Cole noticed the change in her voice too. She had been eased into conversation by Cole, making things much easier for him. It was also nice to see the young girl gaining some much needed confidence.

"Look." Cole placed his hand on the estranged teen's shoulder. "We can wake these people up, and then we go to a town or a village where we could securely talk to Madotsuki, as well as Booker and Elizabeth.

But little did either of them know, more than just questions awaited them on the way to civilization.

* * *

Outside the Hakurei Shrine, Engineer had built a makeshift shed for the Elite. "I hope y'all appreaciate it." Engineer remarked, dusting his hands off once seeing everyone inside and with a chair each, sitting in circle, like the world's most desperate self help group.

"Okay, so there's a lot I don't get." Marisa started. "Tell me about it." Alan Wake muttered under his breath. "I thought my life before was weird. That was nothing compared to any of the stuff that goes on here."

"Oh, you exaggerate." Medic laughed, fixing his glasses. "Every one of us is here for a reason. You can't say this happened by chance."

"That's kinda obvious." Tank cut in. "Why though, I have no idea. One things for sure, we've all got enemies who are benefitting from this. Those guys with the robots? No idea who they were when they showed up, but I can bet that there's at least one of you guys with some history of being with them, or at least going up against them."

"Ultratech? Yeah. We don't exactly get along." Orchid confirmed. "Same way you go back with that shadow dude."

"Well," Tank suggested. "We told you about the Shadowman. How about returning the favour and telling us a bit about Ultratech?" Orchid shook her head. "Nothing important I can tell you. Ultratech safeguards its secrets pretty well."

Orchid did have one thing to tell though. "There was more of us." Tank remembered that. The KI combatants knew that, having seen them being aprehended.

"More of you? Oh God, I-" "I meant more people like us!" Orchid cut Scout off, before she had reason to punch him, which had the potential to kill the guy. "As in, fighters. Ultratech's biggest public exposure came in the form of Killer Instinct. A tournament where people competed in fights which were entertainment for the upper class. You win, you get to be a part of that elite society."

"That's what I won? How come I didn't get that?" Balrog grumbled. "You spoiled their plans. There's a reason I was locked up in that prison."

"Ultratech makes its money through robots called Fulgores. Designed for combat, they're basically security droids, but way more advanced. They wanted to show it off to the world, and that meant getting rid of anyone who could destroy it. This whole thing threw those plans out straight away, as they didn't know who you were. When you smashed that Fulgore to pieces-" She stopped to laugh. "-On live television, they were as shocked as anybody else. They wanted you dead for that."

"Never mind that." Reimu dismissed, showing some disinterest in the backstory. "What matters now is that we get to the prison and release them."

"Are you outta your mind?" Tank raised an eyebrow. "Going back there is suicide. Unless Orchid spotted any weakness." Orchid shook head. "No. Unless you count moral weakness."

Then Orchid remembered something. The staffs. "Well," She began. "There is one more thing. I heard a Russian, and a Japanese man, both being shut into cells. But they put up a fight. They had guns and grenades, but most importantly, they had-"

"Staffs." Richtofen finished the sentence. "So that is where Nikolai and Takeo went." He then looked to Dempsey. "In that event, we must go." Tank would've shaken his head for anyone else, but he too realized that it wasn't as easy to say that for Takeo and Nikolai, not only two people he knew, but two very powerful people in their own rights.

"I'm not entirely convinced we'll make it out alive." Tank countered. "I created a disturbance the last time I went back. If what these guys say is true, and this 'Ultratech' company really is working with the Shadowman, which I'm inclined to believe, then you know what he's done with them. He won't want them getting out."

Richtofen nodded. "He will have created a dimension for their destruction. Along with the staffs."

Yukari, who had been silent up until now, spoke up. "Hang on. He can just create new dimensions on a whim?" Richtofen nodded. "I don't believe you. How then would someone like you survive so long?"

"The Summoning Key which is currently in the hands of the wrong person, und these blood vials around mein neck are the very essence which repels him. Even if he did transport any of us to a trapped dimension, we would just as easily get away. All he would do is waste time, und give me valuable experience using it." He explained, highly offended.

"I see." Yukari conceded. "I apologize. But still, the question remains: How are we gonna rescue them?"

There was silence. That was a good question, as even if they could get to the prison, getting across a dimension was another story. But they couldn't give up, at the same time. For some, anyway. All wanted to help, but for many, it was a lost cause.

"You said you could create barriers..." Richtofen muttered, beginning to formulate a plan.

"Yes, that's what I do." Yukuri confirmed. "Is it possible that you can also break them down?"

The group paused. "Yes." Yukuri replied. "I can create barriers, but I can also go through them. Though I rarely ever go through them myself."

"That is no matter." Richtofen brushed it off. "I will only require the rift be opened for me. That way we can-ack!" Orchid had already grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him off, with Yukari sighing and floating off, knowing they wouldn't get far.

* * *

Back in the tomb, the Jack of Blades observed the Microsoft Elite. In his eyes, numerous and colourful, but not nearly powerful enough. Merely another stepping stone on the path to world domination. They refused to recognize this however, as they had not yet apologized for awakening him, or knelt before him.

"I asked a question. Clearly, I was not loud enough. Who dares to wake the Jack of Blades?!" He demanded. "It is us." Death's Hand stepped forward. "The Microsoft Elite. Be thankful we have not killed you upon sight." He warned, a hint of venom in his usually calm and respectful tone.

"Sun, are you sure about this?" Death's Hand nodded. "I know what I must do. I shall explain my motives later."

"So, you and your team should disturb me for no good reason? Hmph! If you kneel now, I may spare your pathetic lives."

"We have not come to worship, but to recruit." Death's Hand replied.

"Recruit? Recruit?!" He laughed, but not too hard, maintaining his sinister nature. "The Jack of Blades playing for a team of mere mortals. Wouldn't that be a sight?"

"I understand your pride may tell you this. But know this: We seek your help knowing your strength, not to make a mockery of you."

"Silence!" The Jack commanded.

"Be ready to jump in." Cortana instructed the rest of the Elite.

"Since you have proven yourselves as arrogant fools in the face of true power, I will make this place your tomb!" He raised his sword, and then, with all his might, came down on Death's Hand. But the assassin was able to get his blade up to block it, making an 'X' shape which flashed a bright green and took the two away from their surroundings.

The Jack looked around his tomb, noticing the rest of the Elite were gone. "Well," The Jack remarked. "It appears as though your allies have deserted you, and now hide in fear of me." He raised his sword.

"I have heard much about you in the short time I was aware of your existence. I pray for a decent fight." The Jack raised an eyebrow. "A decent fight? Is that what this is about? A decent fight?"

"No. But it would be appreciated." The Jack was furious. "You fool!" He snapped, pointing his sword at Death's Hand. "Your arrogance will cost you your life!" Death's Hand readied himself for battle, sword in one hand, dagger in the other. "May the best man win!" He retaliated, as the fight began.

The Jack rushed in first, launching wild and powerful swings at his opponent, who ducked out of the way of them all, before blocking the last one. The Jack seized the opportunity, readying his razor sharp claws to tear at his torso. He took one hand off his sword and lunged in for a swipe, only to be met with a dagger going through the palm of his hand. The Jack retracted his hand in pain, only to realize...there was no blood. No wound, and even the pain was fading quickly.

"Is this your doing?" The Jack demanded. "Somewhat." Death's Hand replied. "You have quite a bit to do with it too."

"I know not what you mean." The Jack retorted. "But I still hold an overwhelming advantage against you."

He lunged in swinging again, the air filling with the sound of swords clashing with each other as neither side wanted to give up an advantage overall.

Death's Hand saw an opportunity to get close to the Jack, taking out his small knife and waiting to disarm him, cleverly countering any strikes that could be thrown his way.

But the Jack merely laughed. "I must admit, your swordplay is remarkable." Death's Hand saw the lapse in concentration and lunged, only to strike air as the Jack no longer seemed as if he wanted to go for close quarters combat.

Death's Hand approached his opponent swiftly and cautiously, closing the gap before attempting a stab with his small knife. To his surprise, he missed entirely, striking thin air.

"Impossible!" He shouted out, standing up just in time to be hit by a devastating blow from behind, courtesy of the Jack of Blades. "Not quite. I have more than a few tricks up my sleeve which make themselves very useful against opponents like you."

"I should doubt it." Death's Hand muttered. The Jack teleported again, but Sun Kin was ready for the surprise attack, though...it never came. Instead, another slash came from the side, combined with a sharp claw disarming his knife and pinning him to the ground.

So, you think I'll just let you run circles around me?" The Jack taunted. "Not likely! You will know the power of the Jack of Blades!" He yelled, glowing green as he slammed his sword down into Death's Hand, who recognized the move from what Cortana told him. Not the specific move, but he still recognized that it was a so called 'Special Move' which Cortana told him came from those who could harness the energy known as...he forgot. But it wasn't important. The blow released him from the Jack's grip, but he could feel himself losing energy fast as the Jack lunged in for another attack.

This time, he slashed again with his claw, and a weakened Death's Hand was forced to drop his Demon Sword.

But wait...

He could feel something...

Seeing it too. Green illusion, he might have called it, but he could see himself equipping a foreign fighting style. He became more aggressive, striking with much faster speed, as well as seeing his opponent take much more damage, and feel the effects of the attack long after it had ended, similar to the attack the Jack used on him. But he needed his weapons for that.

The Jack lunged in again, hoping to finish the fight with his next few attacks in brutal fashion, arming himself with the Sword of Aeons and swinging wildly at Death's Hand, who retaliated with a flurry of punches, followed by a kick to the chest which sent the Jack flying. Death's Hand quickly pucked up his sword and ran under another attack, picking up his short knife.

"Well, well. I never considered you a fighter with your hands. Guess I was wrong. Kind of breaks the rules of the game, yes?

"So, you wish to play games?" Death's Hand demanded. "Then games you shall have!"

He activated the power.

It felt great. He could feel himself changing, in speed, in strength and durability, glowing green as he charged towards the Jack.

The ruler of the court was no match for Death's Hand, with the sudden and unprecendented boot in power.

Every hit drained way more energy than it should have from the Jack, and yet, he could not explain it.

He staggered backwards, severely injured but enraged at the level of insult which he had been dealt. "You...you insult me like this?!"

He teleported again, and took a wild swing at his back, but Death's Hand was equal, spinning around and forcing him off his back in a split second, then following up with a series of slashes with the Demon Sword, followed by three stabs with his small knife, all but ending the fight.

He knew what to do. It was time for Ling Ci.

He sliced across the chest, cutting open a gaping wound for blood to gush out of, then sliced through the limbs, right leg, right arm, left leg, left arm, in that order. He kept up the stabbing too, going for the gut to puncture any organs he had while the Jack still stood there, thanks alone to the pure speed of the attacks.

He then prepared for the finishing blow. He sliced off the right arm completely, then drove his knife through the Jack's chest. Then he sliced off the left arm cleanly, finally allowing the Jack to fall to his knees, before swinging with the Demon Sword, a clean decapitation, before walking away.

That was when everything returned to normal. To the surprise of the Elite, it was Sun Kin who was still standing.

"Guess he wasn't so tough." Marcus chuckled. "Maybe he might be an equal to me..." Marius muttered.

The Jack had been weakened. He was unconscious, sprawled out with his weapon no more than a few feet away from him. "He was a most worthy opponent." Death's Hand remarked. "To recruit him would surely tip the balance in our favour."

"Exactlt why I chose him." Cortana backed up the comments. "Now, carry him out. If he loses it, it will be in a place we can contain it."

"Cortana, are you absolutely sure about this guy?" Chief asked. "Seems like he's not too co-operative."

"John, trust me." Cortana reassured him, even showing a little attitude when she used his name. "I didn't choose all these people because I drew their names out of a hat. You'll see why in good time."

* * *

The prison was falling apart. Literally. Pieces of it were coming close to hitting Tusk, though they probably would've hurt as much as pebbles if they even hit.

The zombies were getting closer, and the staff wielders were running low on ammunition. Thankfully, the other members of the KI cast were able to kill them without the use of ammo.

"There's gotta be some way out!" Kim-Wu yelled out as another zombie got a nunchuck to the face.

Nikolai and Takeo said nothing as they fired again, knowing that escape was unlikely at best.

But then, they heard something. They assumed it was nothing, and kept firing.

That was when the sound started to grow in volume. It got louder and louder as the prison crumbled more and more.

The loud sound had reached its peak, then it subsided.

The cast of characters looked behind them. A white outline surrounded a section of the prison wall, leading to the outside. But it was the regulr outside world, not the currently disintegrating one. Who else would be standing there, but Dr. Edward Richtofen. "Ah, Takeo! und Nikolai! What a coincidence, I was wondering where you would-"

He was cut off by a falling piece of roof. "Why don't we discuss this elsewhere?" He suggested, still keeping his cool. "You know this guy?" Kim asked, whacking another zombie with her nunchucks.

"Yes." Takeo answered. "A colleague of mine, and of Nikolai's." Nikolai grunted in response, glaring at Richtofen. "Unfortunately, yes." He confirmed.

"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" The sassy prodigy demanded. "Let's get the hell out of here!" She ran through the rift, followed by Maya and Tusk. Takeo ran through next, then Kan-Ra, Aganos, Chief Thunder, Eagle, and finally Nikolai, before Richtofen sealed the rift behind them.

"Orchid, you escaped!" Maya was pleased to see her friend once again, just glad to see the world hadn't been overrun by decomposing dead corpses.

"Good to see you too, Maya. Everyone else too...where's Sabrewulf?" She asked. "He broke out a while ago." Maya explained. "In a fit of rage. Some say he was killed by a squad of Riptors, though he wasn't found."

Orchid took one second to look at the combatants of KI. They were indeed bloody, and the blood smelled like blood which had been left in the sun to rot, so at least no one was lying about the shadow dude being responsible.

"Alright, that's everyone. But how are we gonna get out without being seen?" Orchid asked. "The same way we got in." Yukari answered, opening up a black portal again. "This way, please." The KI cast were the first through, leaving Takeo and Nikolai to talk to Richtofen.

"I know." Richtofen stated before either could open their mouth. "But can we at least talk elsewhere? Somewhere safe?"

"I know not what you have done, Richtofen. But if that is the extent of the enemies power, then an uphill battle is what we have." He stepped through. Nikolai stepped up next. Richtofen knew more than anyone, the rumours were true. Not even Lenin could look Nikolai in the eye. No one can. He was pretty intimidating, and when he had reason to doubt you, he would let you know.

"I will speak later." He said, glaring at Richtofen, but passing through the portal regardless. Richtofen sighed, going through the portal before Yukari followed, leaving the prison, well, pretty empty.

 ** _Author's Note_**

I might get questions about Death's Hand punching the Jack (that's how I'll refer to the Jack of Blades, btw. Jack Cooper is Jack, Jack Walters is Walters or Jack W.) despite that not being listed as one of his attacks. So I'll say right now that the attacks I listed were purely from a gameplay perspective, and if there's no reason a character wouldn't be able to use an attack (unless listed as a special move) like punching or kicking, then they'll probably improvise with that if the situation demands it.

As for everything else, not really much to say.

Until Next Time!


	11. What does 'Team' mean?

The local library was relatively busy. For the human village in Gensokyo; which hadn't a very sizeable population, it was big, as big as those in LA, but not nearly as packed. When he said it was as big as LA, he wasn't kidding. It may have been even bigger, with books the size of car engines on some of the shelves. The shelves themselves were tall, certainly taller than any shelves Cole had ever seen. But Cole didn't bother sticking around. Maybe some other time, to improve his Japanese, but he was under time constraint for now.

It was when he just happened to glance across the aisle, he saw her. A girl. Pale skinned, slightly short, with her back turned to him. She had her almond brown hair tied back in a ponytail with a white ribbon, and was putting some books back in their rightful place.

The lady didn't appear much older than 18, and dressed like she was still a student. What kind of school she went to was a mystery, as Cole wouldn't have sent his daughters anywhere near a school that allowed its students to wear skirts that short with black thigh highs. But her grey blazer definitely said she was a student somewhere.

She then sat back down at her desk, and began reading again, then she scribbled down something on a sheet of paper. She seemed to be the closest to a normal looking person in the entirety of Gensokyo, with the exception of maybe Alan Wake. But the fact that she stood out so much definitely made Cole curious...better go over to her. He made his way over, stopping before the desk and then asking.

"Excuse me, ma'am." She looked up at Cole, revealing bright, emerald green eyes which, once focused on Cole, felt as if they were staring into his soul. She didn't say anything for a moment, but she did eventually. "Yes?" Another distinctly Japanese accent. Cole decided then the conversation would best be continued in her native tongue. "I am looking for a copying machine of sorts. Do you know where I could find any?"

Monika smiled. "There is no need for the Japanese, I speak perfectly fine English."

"Well, that's a relief." Cole muttered. "To answer your question, I don't think there are any machines like that anywhere in the library. Perhaps if you were to try elsewhere for the machine?"

" I see."

There didn't seem to be anywhere that offered a copying service for him, and he did have other things to do.

Cole looked at the desk she sat at. There was a wooden plaque which said 'Club President', though that didn't mean much to him. Her desk was stacked with papers and books. Not messily and hastily thrown around, but neatly organised. She was reading a book currently, and taking notes with a pen and refill pad every so often.

Perhaps she could help? It was a long shot, no doubt. But it was worth the attempt.

"What...might I ask, are you doing here?" Cole asked.

"This? I'm taking notes for poetry techniques." The woman answered. "I mean in general. What's all this about?" He picked up the plaque. 'Club President'?"

"I am the president of the Doki Doki Literature Club!" The lady replied, rather cheerfully. "I try to encourage passion for literature within the club, in all of its many forms. I constantly try to better not only others, but myself also. So, would you like to join?"

"I'm afraid I'm much too busy to do so." Cole replied, disappointing the girl. "But I do have a book for you." He said, in the heat of the moment. Damn. Now he was gonna do? The bookworm's head had already pirked up. "Oh?"

"Alright, miss..." "Monika." She introduced herself. "Cole Phelps." Cole returned the greeting, handing her the book. "I'd like you to examine this book. Write down anything interesting, any..." he paused. "Pivotal...plot points."

Monika examined the outside of the book. "It's a strange looking book. What is it about? Where did you get it?"

"It's mine." Cole lied. "I'm an aspiring author, and this is what I'm hoping will be my big break. A fictional novel of course, I might have to break it down."

Monika remained silent as she opened the book, looking at the first page. She was silent. "Do you think you could do that, ma'am?"

"You said your name was Cole Phelps?" Monika asked, still not looking up from the book. "That's right. I can pay-" "Just do one thing for me, Cole. Come back tomorrow. These ideas...they're...incredible. I've never seen such complexity in a book before." Cole was confused. He had intended to come back anyway, but if this girl insisted on this as her only reward...

"Will do." Cole tipped his hat to her as she turned to the second page. He left the library, hoping that Monika was trustworthy.

* * *

Back at the shrine, people were having reunions with those they had been separated from, though it wasn't as heartfelt as it sounded.

"So we're back to taking orders from you?" Nikolai asked, still glaring at Richtofen. "Like I said, this is not for my personal gain, Nikolai!"

"I cannot believe that." Nikolai shook his head. "For me, it goes against all I stand for."

"The circumstances which we find ourselves in demand action." Richtofen countered. "You go above simple action!" Nikolai retalliated. "The things I have seen...if this is truly what it should take for us to save the world, then there is something wrong with the world."

Richtofen wanted to counter. He did, really. But he couldn't. He didn't like confrontation at all, and when it came to his closest allies, he knew integrity was the most important thing. Once Takeo and Dempsey were on his side, Nikolai would work with them, regardless of his opinions on the doctor.

Nikolai walked off to the shrine, prepared to introduce himself to the rest of the Elite, while Richtofen tried to think.

Kim-Wu was pleased to see Jago again, having a certain fondness for the silent monk. As he said himself, silence is golden.

TJ was trying to introduce a sour looking Balrog to the KI combatants, obviously yielding much too little success. "Did you see anything in there?" Orchid asked Kim. "I should probably be asking you that," Kim replied. "I figured you'd probably have got something after time in there."

"Not really. Unless..." Orchid paused. "What?"

Orchid sighed. "I know he won't like me saying this, but...Gargos...survived." Kim brushed it off. "Guess we'll just have to kill him harder, huh?"

Orchid shook her head. "No, you don't understand. He lives on, in Jago."

Kim stopped, realizing what she meant. "Oh. Damn, that is kinda bad."

* * *

Sam Fisher fired another shot through the skull of one of the undead, clearing his path to the control room. He ran inside, and slammed the door shut, locking it. They continued to pound at the door to come in, but their attempts were futile, only creating more noise, which even then, was sometimes drowned out by the door.

"Alright Grim. I'm safe. Now what is it-" Sam stopped. He wasn't expecting to see other people, who looked just as ready to kill as he did.

The first person was a woman, with short, red hair, wearing a blue and black jumpsuit and carrying dual wield pistols. She definitely looked like a rival agent, with her overall more professional look. Despite the fact that there were about a thousand of them out there, she seemed far more concerned with the one living human who had just entered the room.

The other person in the room was a man, with short black hair. He was of an above average build, wearing some light protective gear but appearing overall casually dressed for someone who made it this far. He had a flashlight on one of the straps of his backpack, and carried a pistol in his hands, which appeared to be his only weapon aside from some grenades on his belt. Though Sam didn't doubt that the man kept more weapons in his backpack.

Sam raised his M.A.W.S. and began questioning. "Who the hell are you?" Sam demanded. "Really?" The woman raised her eyebrow. "There's literal hell on earth out there, but you still wanna go for the tough guy persona?"

"Grim, what can you tell me about these guys?"

The woman behind his communications system said nothing.

"Grim?"

"Sam...I don't have anything." Sam dismissed it. "That can't be. You should have something."

"Sam, you honestly think I'd try and bullshit you at a time like this?"

Sam considered. "I guess you're right. I'll handle this myself."

"Well? Are you gonna lower the gun?" The asked." I'd like you to state your identity." Sam responded, not lowering his gun.

"Jason Flemming." The man responded, standing upm "Now can we-" "You too." Sam gestured to the woman.

She sighed. "Joanna."

"Joanna what?"

"Joanna Dark. Now can you put the gun down? It's nothing personal, but I kinda figured we'd at least be able to set aside our differences enough to survive this shit."

"Fair point. But don't think I'll hesitate to slit your throat if I-" "That's enough!" Jason stopped them before they got violent. "You never told us your name." He said, pointing to Sam. "Jake." Sam lied. "Jake Schmidt."

"Alright...Jake. Joanna. How about not trying to find excuses to kill each other? I mean, there's plenty of guys out there who'd love to put your throats on a kebab."

The two looked at each other. Sam finally lowered his weapon, coming around to see the other sides point of view.

"Alright. If it means we all get out, then I'll set aside my differences. Don't think for a moment though that-" "makes us friends?" Joanna finished his sentence. "Don't worry. It doesn't."

On the other side of the infested complex, there was another team. But this one was not one forced together by the circumstances, but instead one that was already established. Overwatch normally didn't take private jobs, but this time, they were taking orders from an anonymous source. It had reached out to them, and told them of a complex where there was the key to humanity's downfall. Whoever the person was, they were right. Obviously whoever sent them there was counting on them running into this.

That wasn't to say they were lying, no, as there was evidence of a break in and a stolen item, but there was a case to be made for anyone suggesting that that wasn't a coincidence. The decaying corpses that had chased them this far were plentiful, as if someone was expecting them, and their glowing eyes could have meant they were being controlled, so though they may have been mindless, they were not incapable.

The cast of characters sent to investigate were more like a group of stereotypes than an actual taskforce too.

A New Mexican cowboy, exactly as one might picture him, with his hat and poncho, his rough stubble and revolvers, all in place.

A British pilot with a strange blue circular device on her chest, short spiky hair and twin pistols.

A gorilla, genetically enhanced to be smarter and stronger than the rest of his kind, wearing a cybernetic suit.

A Swiss medic with a halo around her head, wearing a winged suit and carrying some sort of staff.

A Japanese archer, a mercenary who wore what appeared to be primitive clothing next to his allies.

A South Korean gamer girl, wearing a skin tight colourful suit and a headset, with a large pink mech by her side.

A German knight, gargantuan in size, and wielding a large hammer.

A Swedish engineer, with a big beard and mechanical parts for limbs and organs, wearing a grumpy expression on his face.

Then, a soldier who kept his face hidden. He wore a red visor over his eyes, had grey hair and wore a blue suit, carrying a large rifle. He was the leader of Overwatch.

But right now, Overwatch had never been closer to collapse. Travesty had struck. It all happened so fast, those who escaped had barely made it out with their lives. Mercy was one of those who had, fortunately, so she was able to heal the others. That was hardly encouraging though. The undead had come up against over thirty members, and only nine had survived.

"Look guys, I know this is bad-" "Bad?! Almost everyone we know has been killed in minutes by those things!" Tracer practically screeched, extremely distressed by recent events.

"But we need to stay calm now. I know it can be tough." Winston attempted to calm her. "Calm?! Calm isn't my job! Not now, not-"

"Lena, this ain't like it was before!" McCree barked. Tracer backed down, going quiet. Hanzo and Reinhardt both looked at McCree, with a look that told him an apology was in order. But even then, it was a more pleading look than a demanding look. They both recognized the magnitude of the situation. Winston couldn't even formulate a plan. D. Va, Mercy and Torbjörn tried to remain strong, and so far they were holding up, but they were always just one bad word away from going off at each other like wild dogs.

The leader was hit worst of all. Soldier 76 was in pieces mentally. He hadn't said anything, and he wasn't showing any signs of getting his voice back soon.

"Well, boss?" McCree asked. "Where do we go from here?"

"There has to be a place for us to go. Not everywhere can be swarming with these creatures." Mercy suggested, optmistic at best.

"I say we just get it overwith. Let's go." Soldier 76 ordered, leading the team without taking another smart remark.

Jason and Joanna both nodded at Sam, letting him know they were ready for the door to be opened. "Three..." Sam began the countdown, as the two readied their guns for an overhwhelming assault. "Two..." Sam began to unlock the door. "One...NOW!" Sam flung back the door and rolled away from it, allowing Joanna and Jason to cut the hordes down to size almost immediately.

"Alright, we have breathing space!" Jason called out, leading the way for Joanna and Sam to break out of the room, into the corridor stained with blood and guts, populated with rotting corpses who had decided they needed more time on earth to indulge in some light cannibalism.

There were others there too. About nine of them, all working together to fend off as many as they could, while looking for a way out. Sam was the one with the map though, and he was doing well to lead the two with him out of the complex.

He was tempted to just leave them there, if it meant getting rid of more people who knew about the goings on at the complex. But Joanna had already told advised him about acting professional.

He whistled, grabbing the attention of a young lady who was part of their team. "This wa-" BOOM!

An explosion caught them all off guard, coming from the nearest wall. All the soldiers turned to face whatever was there, taking advantage of the lack of zombies there to get a good look and let the ringing in their ears stop.

The hole blown in the side of the facility was made by a man in a green suit holding a futuristic weapon. Could this day get any weirder? "Hey, I'm looking for a...he stopped for a moment, holding his hand to his head and looking around at seemingly nothing, as if information was flashing up before his eyes. "Jason Flemming, Joanna Dark, Sam Fisher, and any members of Overwatch?" They all looked around at each other and nodded. "Would you like fries with that?" Sam joked.

"Haha, no. I'm just trying to get you out of here, I figured you'd appreciate it." Chief replied. "Lemme guess, you want some kind of a favour in return." Joanna deduced, staying one step ahead of everyone else.

"Sort of, yeah." Chief conceded. "But be honest. Do have the time to consider?" The makeshift group had a look around and at each other, struggling to come up with a reason not to go for him.

"Fine. But we better get moving. I think these motherfuckers would like to have us for lunch."

With that, the group ran off into the distance, away from the complex, and away from the hordes, which became thinner and thinner the further away they got.

* * *

"Alrigh, I just gotta think. Where could it be?" Marisa was going through the contents of her disorganized home, looking for the book that she had been so eagerly studying. It had to be here somewhere, that was for sure. She had frisked Dempsey and Richtofen, so unless it was lost, then she definitely had it. The only thing that interrupted her searches was an occasional groan of pain from somewhere in the distance.

"That's odd." Marisa remarked. "I could have sworn I heard noises." Yet when she listened again, nothing. Must've been her imagination.

But she still looked through for book intently, as if it held her life savings in it.

There was one phrase in the boom was driving her mad, not because she couldn't find it, but because she couldn't find out what it meant.

"Only Primis may wield the staffs."

Marisa had no idea about anything relating to the context of it. But she knew it was important. How? She just did. But until she found that book, she was in the dark.

* * *

Cortana watched as the disgruntled team made their way back through the gates to the complex, leaving a few for the secuirty to clean up. They seemed exhausted, reasonable for the distance they had to travel.

"Hey Cortana, how come you didn't go get these guys yourself?" Chief asked, bewildered by the decision to send him on a wild goose chase. "I had other places to be. You'll find the new members inside."

That was when she turned her attention to the new members.

"So the members of Overwatch finally arrive. Good to see you." Cortana then noticed Jason Flemming, Joanna Dark and Sam Fisher. "You too."

The members of Overwatch looked around, with Cortana's last remarks being on all their minds, undoubtedely.

The death of their teammates was...fairly recent. It was as if someone had droped a bomb on all conversation, so any word could have set them all off.

They might have worked for the same people, then and now, but the atmosphere was much different now. They were a team no more.

 ** _Author's Note_**

So Overwatch has finally been introduced, thank God. It was a nightmare to have to go through every character's bio. As I said, I'm more of a tf2 guy, but I'm still going to make an effort to portray them correctly. The killing off thing is merely a plot device for me to work with and also to downsize the cast. All works out then!

Who are the other new members? Conker, Banjo, Gunstringer and anybody else I mentioned who tagged along with them. I know it seems cheap to relay the info this way, but it's 2am and I just wanna finish the chapter before habits fester.

Final Note: Happy belated birthday NK! DDLC reference is for you!


	12. Knowledge is everything

"Morning Cole!" Monika cheerfully greeted. "I finished taking down notes on the book you wrote."

"Already?" Cole was skeptical. "I figured it would have taken you at least a week. But this is great, thanks." He continued, moving over to her desk to inspect the book sized folder of notes. "I included page references and everything. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to write a full review, sorry."

"No no, this is perfect." Cole reassured her, as he skimmed through the notes with amazement at the level of detail in the summary. "You told me this was yours, if I'm not mistaken." Cole of course remembered his lie, and covered for it like a natural. "Yes, that's right. I'm hoping this is my big break." I just wanted to make sure all the major plot points-" "Cole, do you have any idea how talented you are?!" Monika practically jumped out of her seat, as if to pounce on him and claim him as her own. "I...uh, well, it's something I've been working on for a few years now." Cole explained.

"This is seriously good, Cole, you've gotta join the literature club!" Cole kind of felt on the spot. It wasn't like he was going to be anywhere else in the foreseeable future, and he did kind of feel bad about the idea of leaving the girl here on her own...he did have business to attend to.

"I'd love to, honestly, but-" "but what?" Monika questioned. "Busy with your investigations, I guess. Wouldn't that be right, detective?"

"That's...basic-" Cole stopped. "How did you know I was a detective?" Monika smiled. "You just told me!"

Cole nodded. "Of course. I did, didn't I?" The logic checked out alright. But something in the back of his mind told him otherwise. "Anyway, what made you say that?"

"Detective?" Monika asked, with Cole nodding to confirm. "I don't usually go out into the village much; But whenever I do, I hear at least one person talk about the man in the funny clothes asking questions. I figured that'd have to be you!"

Cole thought nothing of the villagers gossiping about him, but there was still something unsettling about Monika. She was still smiling, as if nothing was amiss. Cole fixed his hat. "And...do they say what I ask about?" Monika shook her head. "Though I figured it was maybe some small tasks around the city for money, y'know?"

Cole weighed up his options. There was no way he was telling her about everything that happened, that was for sure. But a girl so smart was hardly going to leave it at that. He better keep her happy.

"How many members do you have?" Cole asked. "Right now? Um~, I'm afraid there aren't any..."

"Make that one." Cole smiled. "I'll join." Monika's eyes lit up. "Really?!" Cole nodded, only to be immediately crushed in an vice like grip from Monika. "Thank you!"

"It'd-be great if you-" Cole struggled to get out, before Monika realized what she was doing. "Oh my God, I'm really sorry! Are you alright?" She asked. "I'm fine." Cole stood up, having regained his breath. "I'll be back. We can talk about whatever you'd like."

"Alright, I'll gladly agree to it!" Monika smiled.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, Monika." Cole tipped his hat as he left the room.

Cole looked over to the commotion. He decided to stop a passerby and ask. "Excuse me." He spoke, in Japanese. "What's the crowd gathered there for?"

"Haven't you heard?" The man asked. "Four teenagers went missing a few days ago, and no one knows where they are. Now, I don't know much about it, but I'd say they've been kidnapped, strictly between you and me."

"Kidnapped?" Cole raised an eyebrow. "Do you have reason to believe this?"

"No." The man shook his head. "Just a hunch I have." With that, he was on his way. Cole's detective instincts kicked in however, and he found himself walking over to where the crowd had formed to gather more information.

That was when the screaming started.

Rather, it didn't start, but it instead became louder. Two men were dragging a third back who was having a fit, spasming and babbling on about 'faces' and 'gone from us'.

Cole quickly made his way to the front, being the first to get to the two men who had ran into a house, presumably belonging to the panicked man, as they got him to bed. He didn't stop talking, but he at least calmed down enough to stay in bed.

"What happened to him?" Cole asked. "Hey, I recognize you." The first said, pointing to him. "You're the man of questions."

'Is that my nickname?' Cole thought to himself. 'I gotta meet up with my PR guy.'. The odd thought of levity didn't last long though, as he was proving he earned his nickname, asking questions straight away.

"So who is this man?" Cole asked. "Takashi. Hideo Takashi. His son was one of the four teens that went missing a few days back."

"I don't suppose he was looking for his son when you found him?" Cole asked.

"That's right, he was. He himself had been gone for five hours before we found him, but he was inconsolable. It was as if he'd seen a spirit."

"I see..." Cole wasn't a medical expert, but he could tell that this man, Hideo, had seen something that shocked him into this state. He remembered similar expressions on the faces of his men back in...never mind. He wasn't going to talk about that. "Is it possible he..." Cole coughed. "...found the body of his son?"

"We considered that too." The second man interjected. "There was no sign of a body there though."

Cole paused. He looked at Hideo, still having his panic attack. "I don't suppose you could show me where you found him?"

"His feet have been dragging in the ground since we tried to move him." The first man commented. "Follow those and you'll easily find where he was."

Cole nodded. "Thank you. You've been a great help to my-" He stopped himself. 'Investigation' was no longer an appropriate term. "-research."

"Take care. We wouldn't want for our new sheriff to be rendered useless too." The second man joked. Cole smiled and walked out the door. The crowd was still there, but they payed little attention to him as he made his way out. There was a good amount of chat amongst the crowd, who all had their own theories and ideas. As for Cole, he was already following the faint trail back along the dirt path. It was highly unusual that something that terrified him so much would have caused him to have such a reaction to it.

More troubling to Cole though, were Monika's comments...

* * *

The Jack of Blades awoke again. The first time in a long time he had ever been incapacitated by anyone. Maybe even his first time full stop.

He was in a grey, metallic room. "Where...where am I?" He muttered to himself. "Welcome." A voice called out from all directions. "Who calls out to me?!" The Jack demanded. "Show yourself at once!"

One of the metal walls began to raise, as if on cue, revealing a reinforced window, sealing off his cell from an observation room. The Jack recognized the man on the other side as Death's Hand. He who he had lost too...arrogant human! It made the Jack's blood boil. He would soon learn the wrath of the court!

"We require your services." Death's Hand explained. "That is what we were trying to-" "save your words, human!" The Jack spat, swinging at the windows with little success. "I assure you, you will not break those windows." Death's Hand informed him. "Did you not hear me?! Silence!" The Jack demanded.

A minute passed where the Jack attempted a variety of creative ways to break the glass, with none of them even making a scratch. "Bah! You must have done something!" The Jack glared accusingly at Death's Hand. "If you'll let me explain, I would gladly tell you..." Death's Hand muttered. "Very well." The Jack ushered him along. "Explain. And hurry up, will you?!"

"We were looking for a valuable addition to our team." Death's Hand explained. "Inspired by the glory of the Court. We resurrected you, as we knew you were the ultimate solution. We request your compliance only so we can restore your former glory."

"Well..." The Jack paused. "That changes things. If my subjects seek advice, then they have made an uncharacteristically wise choice. Bring me these subjects and I will give them my advice."

"Right away sir." Death's Hand nodded, going off to get Cortana. He sighed in annoyance. That was supposed to be help? What an arrogant bastard. If he was truly 'a valuable part' to the team, then really, they might as well have just thrown down their arms to Green Heart then and there.

* * *

"It is not a matter of 'wanting', I assure you, it is a matter of needing!" Richtofen tried to protest to the other three, but he was getting nowehere. Only Takeo would take his side. "That stone and the little golden thing? Forget it." Tank dismissed any protests. "Those things put us in this mess in the first place!"

Richtofen paused. The Focusing Stone. And the Vrill Device. Were they really just-no. No, they were most certainly not mere distractions. They were as important to the pursuit of the Shadowman as the Summoning Key, or the Kronorium.

But where would they find the two items? Not like they were going to pop out of the ground. He especially remembered how challenging it was to get the Focusing Stone especially...

* * *

Arriving at the jungle shrine only meant more questions for Richtoden, specifically from Tank Dempsey.

"You said you were gonna explain to us why we're here?" Tank reminded him. "Unless you were lying like the-" "I will fulfill my promise, Dempsey." Richtofen sighed.

"You remember the device at the castle?" Richtofen asked. Tank nodded. "The pyramid." Takeo remembered. "Ja, the pyramid. It is a device known as the MPD. Within it, there is the power to control the undead populace."

"So that is why it interests you." Nikolai muttered. "It concerns me!" Richtofen corrected him. "That is where Maxis is. I had assumed Monty put enough measures in place to prevent an occurrence such as this..." Tank and Takeo looked at each other, realizing it was a longer story than they had time for. "Alright, so we have to look for that thing, but tell me, why are we here?"

"It is not as simple as finding the MPD and then killing the Shadowman. We need more. There is a meteorite here which will provide us with one of three pieces to the puzzle.

The undead weren't as numerous as they had been in previous locations, but they didn't need to be. When the passageways were as narrow as they were at Shangri-La, 5 zombies seemed like 20. But that couldn't deter them, they needed to be strong enough to hold off the undead that followed them this far, and to retrieve the focusing stone.

 ** _I see them staring back at me,_**

 ** _They know my name,_**

Takeo ran past the doorway to the now ruined village where worshippers of the shrine once lived, watching as spikes which had just jutted up out of the ground impaled several undead, turning them into rotting skewered kebabs. Nikolai was accompanying him, cracking open the skull of a straggling corpse with the butt end of his PPSh before signalling to Takeo they needed to move on, moving into the caverns which the locals had used as a power source.

 ** _The faces in the sky are_**

 ** _Looking for something more,_**

On the other side, Dempsey and Richtofen crossed a very treacherous bridge hanging over a waterfall. Erosion had lead the water to create a second basin high up on the mountain, which was where the two were headed, but if they dropped where they were, it would have been a rough encounter with some very tough looking rocks and an even tougher drop of several thousand feet before they hit ground again. Thankfully they made it across with little difficulty and were down a tunnel leading to the basin in seconds. The tunnel was going to be important, but not now. As Richtofen ran ahead, a zombie managed to claw its way down from above, jumping onto Tank. Richtofen quickly sliced open its throat, causing it to recoil and fall to the ground, lifeless once more.

 ** _My friends have paper smiles and_**

 ** _Laugh at me in all my trials_**

In the middle, two wooden wheels lay dormant, opposite one another, with two levers to be pulled resting next to them. The four met up in the middle, with Richtofen powering up both wheels while Takeo used the nearby mystery box. He came back with exactly what Richtofen needed. A gun with a complex design and a lense on the front instead of a barrel.

"Der 31-79 jGb215! Wundebar!" Richtofen exclaimed. The other three scratched their heads in confusion at the complex name too, but fully understood what it was when Takeo fired it at a lone zombie, shrinking it down to the size of a baby before Takeo kicked it into a wall, killing it.

"Shrink Ray." Nikolai corrected Richtofen as the four moved out.

 ** _Their eyes are everywhere_**

 ** _And see everything_**

Back in the place where they started, the four lined up with four stone buttons to be pressed, which appeared to be ancient in design, like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. "Now, we must all press them together. One, two, three!" The four pressed the buttons on the count of three. There was a flash of light and all of a sudden the shrine appeared...younger. It was darker, thanks in part to a now obvious solar eclipse. The most notable thing however was the giant meteor which had appeared on top of the shrine, filled with element 115.

 ** _What do they_**

"An eclipse...but-" "No time to explain Dempsey, we must hurry!"

"Nikolai and Takeo, are you ready?!" Richtofen called out. They needed to match up symbols from opposite sides of the shrine, Richtofen having to yell at the top of his lungs while Takeo and Nikolai endeavoured to get there in time. Sure enough, they did, and soon, the eclipse was gone, and things were as they were before. No meteor or anything.

 ** _Need me_**

 ** _And I need them_**

Meeting back at the starting point, a pressure plate of sorts was jutting out of the ground, much higher than anything any of them had seen. Richtofen knew what it was though. "I will stand on this." He explained to Takeo. "You then may run up to the altar und use the Pack-a-Punch machine on the...Shrink Ray." He expressed slight dejection, but was helpless against popular vote.

 ** _See me_**

 ** _And I see them_**

Takeo did exactly that, returning with a newly upgraded weapon which shrunk a group of zombies, making them not only small enough, but light enough, to kick away by simply running through them.

 ** _Within_**

 ** _The lines they've been_**

Without another word, the four activated the eclipse again, Tank, Takeo, and even Nikolai following Richtofen's lead. He may have been crazy in some of their minds, but he was their only way out. Regardless of their personal opinion, it was obvious he knew what he was doing.

 ** _Burned in my mind_**

The four made their way past the mud room where Tank and Richtofen had been, with a large chunk of the undead following them having been slowed down in said mud. "Remember, stay on the grate!" Richtofen instructed as the three slid down. Richtofen followed them, but was able to fire a shot from his MP40 which flicked a switch, completing the next step.

 ** _It all ends so violently I know_**

 ** _My sweet Pareidolia_**

The eclipse ended again, with the four making their way back to the start again, marred by the aptly named 'Shrieker Zombie'. It was a noise that, in terms of pain, ranked somewhere between nails on a chalkboard and Yoko Ono's Greatest Hits. Once his head was gone, he shut up. Regardless, the four made it back and activated the eclipse once more.

 ** _It all ends so painfully and slow_**

 ** _My Pareidolia_**

The serene and graceful jungle night was interrupted by a small meteor smashing into the waterfall by the slide. "Over there!" Takeo called out. "We need something from that meteor, let's go." Richtofen instructed.

Having made it over, the group saw a green diamond lodged on top of the cliff, hanging close to the waterslide. Nikolai used his Ray Gun, the force of the shot dislodging it and letting it fall to the ground. "Takeo, use your sword to send it down the slide!" Richtofen ordered over the sound of gunfire, as the first big horde they had seen in a while got a little too close. Tank ended up using the Wind Staff to blow them all away, and the four were able to chase the diamond down the slide.

 ** _My friends have hollow eyes_**

It's momentum had carried it to a man made geyser, pressure sensitive. The diamond then rocketed up the geyser, and didn't come back down.

 ** _They're made of shapes and curvy lines_**

The four raced up the tunnel to the water room, back to the part of the shrine where Takeo and Nikolai once were. On his way, Nikolai found a gas valve, and began turning it, hoping to create a distraction to deal with the undead. Once again, the eclipse ended.

 ** _Their eyes are everywhere_**

"There's our prize." Tank pointed to the diamond, nestled nicely on a pedestal high above the geyser. Much too high for any of them to safely reach. "It must stay there, so we can use it later." Richtofen explained. "Now, we need to find the other special zombie."

 ** _And see everything_**

Activating the eclipse again, the toughest step of them all was underway. The 'other' special zombie was dubbed 'Napalm Zombie' by Dempsey. He was entirely covered in flames, and even being within ten metres of him made it feel like your skin was burning. Nikolai's gas leaks had not been without use, as the four lead him down the tunnels, past all the leaks, igniting them.

 ** _What do they_**

 ** _Need me_**

They eventually lead him back to the room where the wheels turned, igniting the final leak and then safely killing the Napalm Zombie, as the eclipse ended yet again, a sign, according to Richtofen, that one of the steps had been completed. Takeo then noticed some claymores resting on a crate near one of the entrances, with spikes on them, more unusually. He looked at Richtofen who nodded back, signalling for Takeo to take them.

 ** _And I need them_**

 ** _See me_**

 ** _And I see them_**

 ** _Within_**

 ** _The lines they've been_**

Eclipse time again, they were in the tunnel that lead down to the waterfall, almost as if you were to approach it from the other side, it wouldn't appear to be there at all. The claymores with the spikes attached were lined up opposite four holes that were leaking water, each receiving a spike that perfectly clogged the hole as the undead ran by. Dempsey then walk into the middle of the basin and press a button supposed to be a trap for unsuspecting explorers. He pressed it, but the waterfall was nowhere near as strong as it once was. The next thing they knew, the eclipse was over.

 ** _Burned in my mind_**

 ** _It all ends so violently I know_**

 ** _My sweet pareidolia_**

Activating the eclipse again, empty stone tablets started appearing all around the shrine, and revealing mysterious designs when touched.

 ** _It all ends so painfully and slow_**

 ** _My pareidolia_**

Being on their own meant zombies were a tougher challenge to deal with, but at least they found all the designs. Their proof? The eclipse ended. As the four met up at the wheels again, Richtofen raced towards the jungle part of the shrine, arriving at a tunnel down a minecart track. He saw a snare trap nestled in the bushes, definitely out of his reach. He didn't need to reach it though. Nikolai shot it with the Ray Gun, making it disappear.

 ** _The loneliness_**

 ** _Is only missed when_**

 ** _I am alone_**

"We are almost done. Just do what I do, und try not to die." Richtofen instructed.

 ** _Oh_**

The next few minutes saw the four back under the eclipse, fighting off the Shadowman's desperate attempts to reac their remote location, having very much success. Even having to turn dials in the mud pit was easy, especially with Richtofen's instruction.

 ** _Yeah_**

 ** _I might try to find my light tonight_**

 ** _Hide my sight from eyes I try to fight_**

 ** _My nine eyes die of light die by the blight_**

 ** _Ride white knight unite my plight tonight_**

 ** _They're inside me_**

Starting up the eclipse for one of the final times, Richtofen looked up to see two crystals. The one where they had put the diamond on the pedestal, and one above the mudpit.

 ** _They're inside me_**

He ran off to the side where they had placed the diamond, sounding a gong on the side of the 'eclipse station'. Going to the other side, Tank did the same with another gong.

 ** _I'm inside out_**

It remained in the eclipse, but the two crystals started to emit an orange vibe as the four ran to the one they had placed.

 ** _I'm inside out_**

"Fire the Ray Gun, Nikolai!" Richtofen ordered. He did it without answering back, knocking a stick of dynamite out of the crystal. Exactly what he needed.

 ** _They're all around_**

But that did make him wonder. Nikolai following his instruction so well. Was it a sign of hope? Or of desparation?

 ** _Within without_**

Was he warming up to Richtofen? Or simply refusing to abandon the only other humans around?

 ** _Within without_**

He wanted to ask, but a bitey zombie cut him off as it tried to go for his neck, with Richtofen quickly using his Bowie Knife to put a stop to that.

 ** _They're inside_**

As the four continued the undead began to increase in numbers, hoping to stop the four at their final hurdle.

 ** _I'm outside_**

Seeing the crystal in the eclipse, that was all they needed, even with the flesh eating maggot bags on them, they were able to clear a space in the eclipse station.

 ** _They're all around_**

 ** _They're inside me_**

 ** _I'm inside out_**

"Now, Takeo!" Richtofen ordered, as Takeo shot the second crystal. The shot was amplified by the crystal, focusing on the meteor and shrinking it down to a size where none of them could see it on top of the building.

 ** _They're all around_**

Richtofen looked at the wall where Pack-a-Punch should have been. He took the stick of dynamite and lit it, pushing it through the hole in the wall before he realized what he had done. It wasn't like he had time to think about it though.

 ** _Within without_**

Richtofen was forced back down the slide by a wave of rushing water, finding himself back at the foot of the altar, knowing there was only one thing to do. He ran towards the cavern path, watching another zombie run into the spikes and get impaled.

 ** _It all ends so violently I know_**

He could see victory, it was well in sight.

 ** _My sweet Pareidolia_**

The eclipse had ended, not that it matteted much to Richtofen. He had done as much as he needed to with them, and all that was left now was to retrieve that which he had set out to.

As he fired at the quickly diminishing hordes, he stepped on the pressure plate for the last time, knowing that this would be enough.

 ** _It all ends so painfully and slow_**

Richtofen took a moment after shooting the last zombie through the head to appreciate the work he had done.

At long last, all the undead were killed at the shrine. He breathed a sigh of relief and walked up the steps, back to the wall.

 ** _My Pareidolia_**

The wall was gone, revealing in it's place a small altar, on which the shrunken Focusing Stone was placed. While the other three found a few stray zombies loitering around, they took their time to kill them. Leaving just the four at the shrine.

 ** _La lalala_**

 ** _Lalala_**

 ** _Lalala_**

 ** _Lala_**

 ** _La lalala_**

 ** _Lalala_**

 ** _Lalala_**

 ** _Lala_**

Richtofen took the stone in his hand, feeling an incredible warmth pulsating from it, as if it was too much for the stone itself, which was more than likely the case with it being shrunk to a fraction of its original size.

As Dempsey, Nikolai and Takeo walked up the steps to him, Richtofen showed them the meteor. "This is the Focusing Stone. Group 935's first encounter with Element 115, und by far the most potent.

"So why's it still here?" Tank asked. "If your group was supposed to uncover the mysteries behind the stuff, I figured something like this would be the jackpot."

"Various reasons." Richtofen replied. "Not least that the locals insisted on keeping it. We may have tried to persuade another tribe to hand it over, but this one...out of the question. We were lucky to be treated as well by them as we were."

"I see. Even you respected their power this time." Takeo cut in, putting two and two together. "Yes. It was Maxis who made the decision. He knew better than to upset them."

Richtofen looked just beyond the altar where the shrunken meteor had been placed, seeing the ever familiar teleporter waiting to be used.

"Where are you going next, German?" Nikolai finally spoke up, plenty of demanding in his tone. "A cosmodrome in Siberia. There, we will find the following pieces to the puzzle, before we can attempt to dethrone the Shadowman." Richtofen explained.

"A cosmodrome...so they finally got to space...excellent." Nikolai felt a slight grin on his face, before it fell again and he stepped onto the teleporter. "We have come much too far for failure to be an option." Richtofen muttered to himself. "I'll soon get you to safety, Maxis."

With that, the crew were teleported from the exotic jungle shrine, ready to face one more earthly challenge.

* * *

"Hey, Richtofen!" Richtofen snapped out of his daze. "Uh?" He looked around puzzled at the other three. "I'm just thinking. They have to be here somewhere. We'll find them again, I know we will. Und together we can finally secure a better tomorrow."

* * *

Despite everything that had happened over the past few weeks, Gensokyo remained pretty much the same as it always had been. No one had to make any major adjustments to the new outside, partially due to the insanely powerful beings that resided there, serving as a more than sufficient reason to stay away.

One youkai wearing a red plaid skirt, a matching waist coat and a white blouse, with green, wavy hair and red eyes knew that better than anyone.

Those that didn't understand at first were starting to learn that Gensokyo was sealed off from the rest of the world initially to protect the rest of the world, not Gensokyo. For the more important people in Gensokyo, this meant they had to assert their own authority.

For one Yuuka Kazami, life had certainly been more eventful as of late. Spring had brought with it not only its flowers, but robotic invaders. Dinosaurs too, some of which tried to eat the flowers. Yuuka was on hand to stop them though, and prevent any harm from coming to them.

Oh?

Someone had come to see the flowers. A man wearing a face guard, with, more worryingly, a sword on his back. No doubt he was looking to take some home with him. Yuuka could tell by looking at him, he was nothing but a human. Tch! He should have known better than to be out this far from the village on his own.

She dropped down behind him, hoping to startle him with a sudden noise.

"Hey you!" But he didn't jump. He had clearly stopped enjoying the flowers, but he wasn't alarmed at the voice coming from behind him. He did turn to see what it was though, still interested to know who he was sharing company with. He said nothing though. Perhaps out of spite, Yuuka thought.

"What's a lowly human like you doing out here on his own?"

"I mean no harm." Jago responded. "No harm? I'm not interested in that. I wanna know exactly what it is you're doing out here. Unless you'd prefer I beat it out of you."

"I told you I meant no harm. But if this is what you want, then I shall oblige."

Jago said nothing, but tensed up, anticipating a brutal fight.

Yuuka began to fly above Jago, attempting to take advantage of his inability to do the same, and began firing danmaku at him, watching as he expertly dodged the first few waves of fire, before firing a blast of his own in retaliation.

"Endokuken!" Jago shouted as he threw a fireball, burning through the flower based danmaku and making its way to Yuuka. The youkai was fast enough to avoid it though, and she did exactly that, hoping to catch Jago off guard at close quarters.

However, Jago already anticipated such an attack. He tensed his knees as Yuuka flew in, and launched his attack with perfect timing. "Enkuken!" He shouted, the rising uppercut connecting with Yuuka's gut to send her sprawling to the ground, winded.

"You must let me on my way." Jago spoke. But Yuuka had no interest in a proposal like that. Her pride was wounded, and now, there was no way she'd let the human get away with that. "You..." She growled. "The nerve...insulting me like that...I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!" She screamed, lunging in with her umbrella.

Jago was ready to use his sword to counter the umbrella, but realizing that it was, in fact, just an umbrella, he decided against it, and went with a wind kick instead. To his surprise though, the umbrella was more than met the eye, as it turned into a giant rose and smacked Jago across the torso. The weight alone dealt some damage, not even factoring in the thorns along the stem which cut into his skin, opening up several gashes for blood to pour out of.

Jago steadied himself again, realizing how important his sword would be to him in this fight. He drew his blade and launched a counter attack, only for the flower to change again. It sprayed him with a sap which assaulted his uncovered torso and eyes. Jago cried out as he dropped his katana, blinded by whatever flower Yuuka had used. "You like it? I had to look pretty hard for that one. Guaranteed blinding in seconds!" She taunted, as Jago looked around confusedly for his attacker.

Yuuka readied the next wave of danmaku, and began firing relentlessly. He was not so fortunate as he was the first time, being hit by every single blast and feeling all of it. He dropped to his knees, exhausted and wounded by the battle, but Yuuka had one more attack. She took out a strange looking rock and pointed it at Jago, waiting for it to charge up.

"You're pretty lucky for a human. Most don't even get to see my-oops, my bad." Yuuka giggled, realizing the irony of the comment. "Anyway, the Master Spark, which is my invention, not that thieving human's!" She cleared her throat and continued. "It should kill you instantly. I'd consider that lucky. You were punching way above your weight, so your punishment should be way more severe. Oh well, can't be helped."

She fired, Jago screaming as the blast hit him like ten thousand freight trains all hitting at once, and keeping up the pressure for at least ten seconds before stopping.

The Master Spark had done its work. No human would have survived a blast as devastating as that.

Jago appeared unscathed, despite the almighty beating he took, but he was sprawled out, appearing lifeless on the ground.

"Well, I guess I'll have to pay more attention to the new humans." Yuuka muttered, turning to walk away. She began walking down the path that lead back to the flower fields, close by, so no reason to fly.

"Hehehehehe..." Yuuka raised her eyebrow. Nothing.

"Gargos...will punish you..." The voice informed her. "What?" Yuuka was confused. It was obvious now where the voice was coming from. But she still had a hard time believing it. Jago was definitely out for the count, last time she checked. Obviously, she was wrong.

Turning around, Yuuka saw Jago standing back on his feet, an aggressive expression on his face, ready for round 2. But that wasn't the only thing weird about him.

Yuuka stared bewildered at Jago, who's darkened skin, glowing blue irises and jagged blade gave him a far more intimidating vibe than before.

"IF YOU EXPECT MERCY. I WILL DISAPPOINT."

Yuuka tried to lunge in to finish him off, but it was the warrior monk who beat her to the punch, ducking to avoid Yuuka's umbrella flower, and all of its sap, and then using his outstretched leg to sweep Yuuka off her feet and then quickly slamming down on her unguarded head with a scissors kick.

Her reflexes were fast enough to dodge the next swing of his leg, and get back on her feet and launch herself into the air, unleashing more danmaku on Jago. The Tiger Warrior didn't even try to avoid this time. Effortlessly, he walked through it, like every shot taken at him was a snowflake gently falling down from above. He stopped in his tracks and took the sword off his back, brandishing it like a madman. Yuuka grew frustrated, hoping more power behind her attacks would help finish Jago off.

"So, you're tougher than most humans, eh?! Well, it's gonna take a lot more than-" Jago had trown his sword like a spear, piercing Yuuka's chest like a hot knife through butter, remaining lodged there.

She was shocked into silence. The human had not only scored a hit, but a severe one at that. Yuuka began to fall to the ground, hurtling towards the earth as Jago got in position to catch her.

Catch her with an uppercut, that is. "ENKUKEN!" He yelled, jumping into the air and connecting with Yuuka's jaw, sending her into the air again. When she came down a second time, Yuuka was barely able to steady herself, getting her umbrella up to block a punch from Jago, sword still lodged in her chest and putting her in extreme pain. It was almost impossible to concentrate on blocking his onslaught of attacks,

She slammed into the tree, feeling something break as she did so, and she wasn't talking about the tree.

Jago slammed his serrated blade through her again, pinning her to the tree and setting her up for his most devastating attack, as she had set him up for the Master Spark.

Yuuka found herself in an unusual position. Fearing for her life. She had always picked on those she assumed to be weak, and she had always been right in her predictions. But this time, she was wrong. Very wrong, and it could very well be the death of her. Pinned up against the tree, she felt like a dummy used for archery practice, and there was nothing to say Jago was anwhere close to reconsidering his decision. Yuuka hoped that he would calm down, that he would forgive her and let her get on her way.

But Jago didn't. The Endokuken became larger and larger in his hands, beginning to incinerate the nearby flowers. Yuuka could only watch on in horror as the ball of fire became bigger and bigger, before being released from Jago's grasp, along with his chilling final remarks.

"ASHES. TO ASHES."

 ** _Author's Note_**

The biggest challenge when writing for Touhou is the cast of characters. I spend a lot of time trying to decide what characters are gonna get featured, and obviously, I can't feature them all. But I think with the 10 I have, and maybe a few cameos here and there, it should be enough.

Shangri-La had by far the most bizzarre and cryptic easter egg of any map in zombies. I, to this day, am not entirely sure if anyone was supposed to figure it out so soon, and I am aware I didn't depict the EE with full accuracy, but only because I thought Brock and Gary would've taken up just a bit too much space. Pareidolia is one of my favourite songs in the series though.

Also, if you're wondering why I'm giving Cole so much spotlight, I recently finished LA Noire, and I was completely enthralled by his character. Brilliantly acted, scripted and written, though LA Noire might not be the best Rockstar game, it does have the best protagonist. I also do realize there are probably no dudes in Gensokyo, but eh, not like any of them are gonna play a big part.

Same reasoning for Monika too. O_o.


	13. The thief and the alien

"Well, here we are." Cole observed the scene of the crime. The dragging footprints started here, at the mouth of the forest.

It wasn't a bare crime scene by any means, as there was a tent, some empty tins of food and a fire that had, since the night, burned out.

He looked around the scene for a bit, noticing large tracks in the dirt. They were much too large to have been made by any animal Cole had ever seen, they also dragged in the ground. Maybe someone was hauling bodies into the forest...

That was when he saw her. In between the trees, a young lady.

Cole stared at the girl, getting intimidating vibes from being within her vicinity. She was a bizarre looking individual, tall enough to be an adult, but her dress sense was remarkably child like, but with a sinister edge. Her blue dress and pink blouse were in tatters, as if they were a century old. The apron and the cross stitch pattern across the front of the dress only added to those claims, along with the blue witches hat that she wore. It too appeared old and dilapadated, but that wasn't the most eerily creepy thing about it. it had rabbit ears on the rim, but they were stiff. As if...they were real. Aside from that, she wore one long pick striped stocking, with seemingly nothing on her other leg.

Her skin was deathly pale, like someone who hadn't been outside in years, combined with her unnaturally red eyes and white hair making her look like a ghost. The way she stared out of the bushes was like she was observing him, like he was prey or something.

Cole pulled out his Army 45. and pointed it at her. "LAPD! Come out with your hands up where I can see them!" The woman sighed and walked out of the bushes at a leisurely pace, hands in the air as Cole had ordered. Cole couldn't see before, but now he was able to see the other stocking, stuffed with something, presmuably being used as a weapon. She had another 'weapon' too, though Cole doubted its effectiveness. A baguette with nails sticking out of it.

But still, there was reason for Cole to believe that this woman knew what had happened to the four missing teens, and he was going to find out if his suspicions could be confirmed.

"Tell me your name." Cole kept his gun pointed at the woman as she stopped a few feet away from him. "Irisu...Kyouko..." She said. Her voice was quiet, but raspy. She certainly sounded like she was dead, but at the same time, also young. It was a strange combo, but the only way Cole could describe it. Guess what? She was also Japanese. There seemed to be an abundance of young Japanese girls and women around here. Maybe it was Japan, who knew?

He wrote the name down and began questioning. "So tell me, have you seen any teenagers around here lately?" Irisu nodded. She held up her hand, showing four fingers. "They came across...a girl...I didn't like her." Cole noted her strange behaviour, but now he had another lead. "What about this girl? Can you tell me anything about her?"

"Blue hair...blue eyes...ve-" She started coughing profusely, unable to even get out any words between the coughs. "Are you alright ma'am?" Cole asked, showing serious concern for her as she kept coughing, reaching down the front of her shirt and taking out a bottle. Had she reached for it at any other time, Cole probably would've shot her, but she was clearly reaching for a cough bottle.

She took a rather large swig of the bottle, before putting it back down the front of her dress.

"Blue hair, blue eyes and very small." He voice was still quiet, but the raspy side of it was gone. "Did you catch any names, or hear anything at all?"

"They tried to scare her." Irisu explained. "She...kind of scared them back."

"Scared them back? How so?" Cole raised his eyebrow. "I don't wanna talk about it. It was kind of messed up." She seemed so monotone, but she demonstrated some emotion when saying that much.

"I know...murder...can be frightening. But I need you to tell me what you saw. Can you do that, Irisu?"

"No. Otherwise you'll end up like the man who came looking for them." Cole perked up. "The man who came looking? Was he...looking for his son, by any chance?"

Irisu nodded. "He came here last night, and he stayed out here all night. He was calling for his son, and his son came out of the woods with his friends. That was what scared him."

Cole knew he needed to press. It just didn't add up. "I need you to tell me what happened to the four. It's very important."

"Why?"

Cole had enough of the good guy act. He was pressing for answers, and clearly he wasn't getting anywhere fast.

"Because, you tell me his son and his friends all came back to the man, and his first reaction was pure terror? That doesn't make sense, Irisu! Something happened to them, and until you tell me, I have every reason to believe you're the one responsible!"

"Careful..." Irisu warned. "I get angry when someone threatens me..." She started coughing again, though she stopped on her own. She still had trouble breathing though, and so she reached down the front of her dress and pulled out an inhaler. She took about ten seconds to use it before putting it away.

"Do you...have... a lot of problems with your breathing, Ms. Kyouko?" Cole questioned.

"Yeah. Asthma, and this really bad coughing virus. It hasn't gone away in a long time, so I basically live with it." She told him. "Do you have prescription for those drugs, Ms. Kyouko?"

"Not on me." Irisu shook her head. "I'm a long way from home too..." Cole chose to believe her, not seeing the point in chasing such a minor thing. "So back to the case, I need you to tell me what happened. And be serious!"

Raising his voice was a mistake.

"I'm as serious as you are, Phelps!" She snapped, her voice changing immediately from her quiet and innocent voice to one filled with animosity and rage, with a strange edge to it. Like it wasn't even a human that spoke those words. Her face began to recede under her hat, with a nonexistent shade covering her face, with only two crimson red eyes poking out.

"You should have not come here." Irisu warned. "Now...time to go."

* * *

Saya playfully walked through the forest, carefree and content that she was by far the strongest creature in the entire forest by a country mile. But there was the problem of food. She was pretty hungry, and those four teens were much better to her as suffering examples to anyone who tried to go against her. She needed someone else...

"YOU LITTLE BITCH! GET BACK HERE WITH MY BOOKS!"

Marisa was back to normal for the time being, as she emerged from the Scarlet Devil Mansion with some of Patchy's books to 'borrow' and a pretty wide grin on her face. It wasn't that she was a thief, no, nothing like that! Just...she had a hard time giving things back. That was all.

She looked around for Meiling, satisfied that she wasn't there, probably having fell asleep at the gate or something stupid like that. It was kind of obvious why Sakuya chewed her out so much, looking at her so deep in a sleep against the gates she was supposed to be guarding.

Marisa ran out of the gates, looking to where her broom was so she could take these home. But walking to her broom felt...odd today. Like she was being watched.

"Thief."

Marisa looked around. "Huh?" She scratched her head. She could've sworn she heard something, but there wasn't anyone around. Either way, she was starting to feel creeped out. She had been down this path about a million times before, but this time...something was off. Not wasting any time, she hopped on her broom and flew off, trying to get away from that sinking feeling.

A woman with long purple hair, wearing a hat with a crescent moon on the front, glasses, and a dress that made her look like Dumbledore's husband came out, looking pretty furious. "Ugh, again!" She stared at the sleeping Meiling, bewildered that she hadn't yet been fired. She chose not to wake her though, knowing Marisa still probably would've found a way to get in and out even if they had anti-aircraft missiles installed.

Saya smiled. A perfect target. What better than a lowly thief?

* * *

Cortana's base was less lively, but more packed. The place was spacious, affording every member plenty of space to roam, which might have been why everyone else was so cold.

The Jack was speaking with Cortana. "Look, I have no idea what Sun Kin told you, but the bottom line is, we need each other." The Jack sighed. "I would hate to be working with any of you, let alone all of you together. But I am no fool, I recognize when I am outmatched."

"So you'll work with us?"

"Now this doesn't mean anything." The Jack was quick to add. "I still abhor the concept, and I will become your enemy once more when the fighting is done, but for now...truce." He reluctantly agreed.

Isaac, Marius, Marcus and Chief were also having their own little meeting, the other three knowing Chief to be Cortana's preferred choice for leader.

"Anyone have any ideas?" Chief asked. "Well, I have a list." Marcus threw the sheet of paper into the middle of the table. "28 members." Marius confirmed. "Though we don't know if that figure is final."

"Cortana told me we probably won't get too many more." Chief explained. "She said she'd explain it all later, once she knew 'where everyone was'." Isaac nodded. "She knows all the members of the Microsoft Elite then." Chief nodded. "Not sure how, but yeah, she does."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but this team reminds me so much of the Playstation All-Stars." Isaac commented.

"PlayStation All-Stars?" Isaac nodded. "That's where I started off." Master Chief considered. If there was another organisation similar to the Elite, then that opened up more possibilities. Maybe there were even more of them out there. Who knew? Would they ever find out?

"Hey Chief!" Cortana called out, causing him to lose his train of thought. "Ah, what is it?" He asked. "Got the last of our recruits."

"We'll continue this later." Marcus suggested. They all agreed as they went to have a look at the new recruits.

A bipedal cat, a Ginger Tom to be more specific, with a funny looking vacuum, wearing a blue jumper and goggles was the first of the new recruits.

The other was far more interesting.

A human woman for a start, with pale skin and long brown hair, which might have made her seem far less interesting initially. But that was only the surface. She looked like an over enthusaistis LARPer, wearing all the typical stuff a fantasy character would. Horned helmet, shirt that covered her torso, but left her arms exposed, shoulder guards, very basic pants that didn't provide any additional benefits aside from keeping you warm when it was already above 15 degrees celsius outside. She did have something of a fur coat wrapped around her waist, but it wsn't a designer brand. It was more like she literally skinned an animal and used its fur as a coat. She had all sorts of weapons too, an axe, a mace and a bow on her back, with a sword in its sheathe beside a small knife and a sickle. She also had a satchel which held a few bottles amongst other things. She didn't speak, and stared at Chief as if he was a frail old man, who needed his armour to keep his arms from falling off.

"Blinx, and Dovahkiin." Cortana announced. "That makes 30 of us. That'll be all, if I'm not mistaken. As far as I know, the rest are with Vert."

"So, you're finally gonna tell me what this is all about?"

In due time, Chief." Cortana replied. "I'll give everyone time to settle in first. We should have a few days before we have to get moving."

* * *

ARIA was still firmly fixated on something on a screen, watching paper being made. It wasn't exactly the most interesting thing happening at Ultratech, but nevertheless, that was what she watched.

"What on earth are you doing?" L.O.G. demanded, irritated that ARIA was occupied with such a mundane task.

"The work ARIA does now is vital to our success as a team. I think such a task would seem important." The Shadowman responded. That shut L.O.G. up for the moment, but it wasn't long before they were interrupted again.

The doors flew open, revealing Cinder standing there.

"Say, you think that you guys have a moment?" He asked, very nonchalantly so.

"What is it, Ben?" ARIA asked, not lifting her eyes from the screen.

"Uh yeah. Y'know that demon guy we fought a while back?"

"Gargos." ARIA replied.

"Yeah, well, he's...kind of back." Cinder rubbed the back of his head. "That doctor dude told me I needed to tell you that, cause he had a sense or something? I don't know.

The Shadowman for once, was unaware of the threat. Yukari, Monty, Cortana, it all seemed obvious before. "You neglected to tell me this because...?"

"I thought I did enough to seal him off from the outside." ARIA responded, turning away from the screen. The Shadowman shook his head. He was clearly frustrated, but he was doing enough to hold it all in. "Very well...West is smart enough to know about dimensional rifts. If anything arises, he can take care of it. At least until I can get the Summoning Key."

* * *

It approached night, but Marisa still pretty busy, characteristically so.

Marisa's house was littered with books, as per usual, though there was something different about this occasion. First off, they were sorted into two piles. 'Read, and unread'. Unusual for someone usually so disorganized.

Marisa still couldn't figure out what they did. High alcohol levels, weird flavours with no rhyme or reason, they were truly the most bizzare drinks the thief had ever come across. She tried to take some notes, having been zapped by Richtofen for taking the book once before, learning her lesson. As far as she knew, some of them toughened you up, some made you faster, stronger and some made you more accurate.

Time for sleep anyway. Maybe in the morning she would figure out the mysteries of the drinks. Besides, she was starting to get a bad feeling in her gut, and it was only getting worse the longer she stayed up.

Saya was enjoying herself, toying with the emotions of her latest victim, planning to make the thief pay far more than the cost of her crimes.

She then pointed to the four teenagers, who she had forced to tag along. "You four are to go in there and kill her. She shouldn't take too much to bring down, and I need to eat."

The four didn't do anything, only kind of sitting there looking miserable and in tremendous pain.

"If you do it, maybe I'll turn you back." She offered, not entirely sure how that could be done.

Marisa drifted slowly and peacefully off to sleep, knowing that tomorrow, she would solve the mystery. She just would.

About ten minutes passed.

There was a noise outside. Marisa slowly woke, not really sure what was going on. The world was still a haze, and as far as she knew, she had just woken up for nothing.

Marisa slowly opened her eyes. It was still dark outside, save for the moon. She was wearing nothing but her nightdress, and her hair was obscuring her vision. It was strange. She thought she heard something outside, prowling around the forest. But it was so late, that couldn't have been the case. If it were Remilia or Flandre, they probably would have flown around, if at all they left the mansion grounds.

Drowsy, but wanting to see what was going on, Marisa fumbled around for a pair of slippers and her spark, being unable to focus long enough to find it. Marisa didn't bother, viewing her door from upstairs where a lantern hung next to the door, illumninating a lot of downstairs.

But what was it that lay outside? Whatever it was, it was making Marisa more and more anxious, but at the same time, almost calling out to her, as if to draw her closer to the door. She quietly stepped downstairs, only becoming more and more fearful as the noise drew closer.

The sound of something soft and damp making its way to the door. It stopped. How far away? Not far enough if Marisa could still hear it.

"hElP mE" It groaned. Marisa's uneasieness began to develop into panic, not wanting to see what was on the other side. "KiLl Me." Another voice wheezed.

Marisa slowly tried to sneak away from the door. She gently tip toed away, being careful not to step on anything that would make a noise.

The voices still hadn't stopped. They began to occupy Marisa's mind, exploiting the fear of the unknown, taking shape in her mind. Why couldn't she just face up to it? She knew she was being irrational, but she couldn't stop herself. It was like her brain was being coated in fear, and was incapable of any other emotion. Whatever it was outside-

Her thoughts were cut off by a bookshelf she bumped into. Marisa nearly jumped out of her skin, and worst of all, the shelf started to rock back and forth. Marisa froze, silently praying no more noise was made.

The door opened. A grotesque red tentacle hit the floorboards, and that was when Marisa stopped dead in her tracks.

It was a hideous combination of the shades of red you would find inside the human body. It looked like a combination of other parts of the body stitched together in some fucked up science experiment. Worst of all was the eye. A lone, blue, bloodshot eye on the tentacle. It was staring at her. Staring right at her. Right at her. "pLeAsE" It begged, dragging the rest of its mutilated frame into her house.

Marisa had never been so disgusted in her life as she had been with the abomination that entered her house that night. Something that was once a human with one eye on the tentacle, and one eye on what passed for its body. A hideous mound of rotting flesh that barely managed to heave itself into the house.

There were more. Oh God. Each one was more horrifying than the last, and they were all crying out for help. Marisa was shaking. She knew she could easily take out those...things, but there was something in her brain that wouldn't let her get over the shock of seeing them. She was nearly paralyzed in fear, and if she wasn't already slightly insane, that sight surely would have broken her mind.

Marisa felt herself seizing up, like she couldn't do anything to stop these abominations. Her broom and Master Spark were upstairs, and there was no way she was getting up there for those.

She slowly began to back up, taking one step at a time away from the horrors, never taking her eyes off of them, as fear took over her brain like a parasite, dictating her every move. She wanted to look around for something to defend herself with, but at the same time, her horrified gaze would not move.

She let out a quiet and scared gasp of horror, turning to move faster away from them. But that was a mistake.

She tripped over a stack of books and went head first through the makeshift shelves which held her mushrooms and the mysterious drinks, accompanied by a loud crash as the glass bottles shattered on impact with the ground, spilling their contents everywhere.

Marisa's head hurt from the impact too, but she wasn't concerned about that, only getting away from the beasts that had broken into her home. She tried to crawl back, not taking her eyes off of them, and then started to feel a sharp pain in her hands. Crying out, Marisa fell on her back and held her hands up, seeing the shards from the bottles had dug into her hands.

Marisa could only let out a nervous whimper as the hideous creatures got closer, begging her for help which she could not give. There were no weapons nearby, the glass was too small to be used effectively, plus her hands were in agonizing pain with glass stuck in them. She still pressed on, using her feet to push herself away from the creatures, never taking her eyes off them.

Her hands were in seething agony. She reached the wall, and with her back firmly pressed against it, she could only stare wide eyed at the abominations drawing closer. She wanted to tell them to back off, but she couldn't even form words in her state.

She reached around for something, anything to defend herself with. She looked around. There was a stick, some paperbacks, and a bottle. The bottle. That was her last hope. She picked up the bottle filled with grey liquid, with a picture of a spider on the front.

'Widow's Wine'.

Marisa closed her eyes, trying to ignore her bleeding hands and popped the top off the bottle, and quickly drank what she could from the bottle, with her hands trembling so much that the majority of it was spilled on her. But once the bottle was empty, Marisa tossed it at the mutilated creatures, missing horribly.

Marisa shut her eyes as they got closer, never letting up in their begging for help or the awful squelching sound they made as they crawled towards her.

She was trying to scream, but couldn't find her voice, as if it had been stolen.

But as they eventually reached their target, she finally did.

Saya smiled crookedly as the screams rang out, moving towards the house for her first meal in a long time. However, it wasn't meant to be. "STAAAAAAARRRSSSS!" Nemesis bellowed, giving pursuit to the creature disguised as a young girl. "Well, she better be there in the morning otherwise I'm gonna make you my next feast buddy." Saya growled at Nemesis as he stomped down and chased her about as quickly as he could do so, giving Marisa some more time on earth.

Given the things she had experienced though, that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

* * *

The next morning rolled around at the Hakurei Shrine, to the sound of a commotion outside. "No! Get off me, now!" Richtofen ordered. A green skinned man, wearing a tattered business suit complete with a fedora that somehow hadn't come off his head. "Brains! Braaaaaaiiiiiiins!" The man cheered as two more individuals tried to pull him off. The first being a teenager with very light blond hair, wearing a blue and green hooped shirt and jeans, and the other being more interesting. An older man, bearded and wearing glasses, also wearing boyd armour which was a metallic grey and orange, with a logo on the chestpiece. Reimu couldn't begin to comprehend what was going on.

Eventually, the older man used a crowbar to pry the zombie man off of Richtofen, which in and of itself was strange. The undead had attacked once before, but they weren't that strong, and they were usually far more savage. As well as that, this one didn't have blue eyes.

Richtofen dusted himself off, walking towards the shrine, stopping when he saw Reimu. "Hey, who are the new guys?" She asked. "Gordon is the scientist, und Cooper is the teenager." Richtofen answered. "And what about the zombie?" Richtofen groaned in disgust. "Stubbs..." He muttered, obviously not a fan of working with the undead.

"Anyway," Richtofen changed the subject. "I have discovered that items from my dimension are

...well, inside your friends house. I'd like them back." Reimu raised her hands in self defence. "Come on, I know you're mad, but you've gotta leave me out of this."

Richtofen raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you hear?" Reimu lookd quizzical. "There were screams coming from the the place where she is supposed to live, und I figured you would like to check up on your fri-"WOAH!" Richtofen screamed as he was whisked away by Reimu at break neck pace, Hoping the trip didn't require any sharp turns.

Reimu noticed that the door was wide open. Very strange, for someone who was a complusive hoarder. Had someone broken in? Either way, there was a horrible stench, and it was obviously coming from inside. What happened? Did someone die?

There was Marisa, messy hair, nightdress stained all different colours, wide eyed and curled up, trembling in fear at a disgusting pile in the middle of her house.

"It's over...it's over...it's over..." Over and over again, Marisa failed to stop repeating that as she stared into seemingly nothing.

"Marisa!" Reimu rushed over to her best friend, hoisting her up and pulling her into a hug. Marisa gripped Reimu out of instinct, starting to slow down the repetition of the phrase.

Cole was the next to rush into the house, barely keeping his hat on as he ran into the house.

"Oh-I...my apologies." He turned to leave. "I'll be back later."

"Wait!" Reimu called out. "You're a detective, right?" Cole nodded. "We could use your help to piece together what happened. Think you can help us?" Cole stopped.

"Of course. Take the poor girl to bed, see if she comes around. I might need to ask her some questions." Reimu nodded, and with that, carried Marisa up the stairs with great effort, and put her in bed.

In the mean time, Cole was looking around. The place was a a pigsty, making the whole place look like a crime scene. But thankfully, it was easy to determine where the actual incident had taken place. The creatures, whatever they were, were piled up on top of each other near where they found Marisa curled up.

"Irisu. Is this what you saw?" She didn't stare for long before nodding to confirm. "My apologies. You can go home if you-" "No. I kind of owe you for beating the crap out of you."

"Thanks." Cole smiled "You've been a-" That was all the poor girl could take as she ran outside to throw up at.

"What happened there?" Richtofen asked, walking in on the spectacle before seeing. "That is rather unsightly."

Richtofen took a smell of the apalling air, confirming it wad far more than simple murder.

"Widow's Wine. That was the perk she used, und a wise choice. Nothing else would have been able to save her in such a situation.

Richtofen knelt down and began slowly pulling at the silk, hoping to reveal a face. As more silk went away, the face became more and more visible.

"That's one of the teens." Cole remembered his face from the poster. "Are you sure?" Richtofen asked. "I'll move more so you can-MEIN GOTT!" He swore. His hands were no longer tearing through silk, but through the flesh. Cole turned away, gaggin at the sight. "Still..." Richtofen hoped to brush it off. "Flesh shouldn't be this easy to tear through, unless..." He stopped.

"What?" Cole prompted him. "Unless what?" Richtofen sighed.

"It isn't just the silk. Their flesh structure is remarakably weak. Now, I'm no expert as to what happened, but if it is like I think it is, I will have no other choice. Anyway, the bottom line is, that I have seen mothers eat their offspring for much the same reason.

Richtofen looked at Cole. "The only reason for them to die like this would be if..."

"Either they were newborn, which isn't the case, or this. Something, _or someone_ was planning to eat them." Cole finished the sentence.

"Exactly." Richtofen confirmed. "But who would-"

They were cut off by the sound of a young girl with blue hair screaming.

Irisu's eyes went wide, recognizing the indivdual immediately.

"Saya...!"

 ** _Author's Note_**

(I'll probably update this A/N in the morning when I'm less tired.)

So poor Marisa. I'm also hoping this chapter is where I can start focusing that much more on Chief's/Cortana's side, especially with all the members there. Gargos is gonna get a bit more spotlight too, and a few characters have been introduced. Not long now until I get to focus more on the character develpoment aspect.

Thanks for reading, and until next time!


	14. Help for What Matters

Overwatch was tense. Very tense. The tension was like a cancer, growing inside each of the members.

Lena Oxton, the Tracer.

Hana Song, the D. Va.

Jesse McCree, internationally known as McCree.

The intelligent gorilla, Winston.

Hanzo Shimada, who prefered just Hanzo.

Torbjörn Lindholm, better known as just Torbjörn.

Reinhardt Wilhelm, who went by Reinhardt.

Angela Zielger, aka Mercy.

Then Jack Morris, aka Soldier 76. The supposed leader of the fractured team.

"Well Jack." It was McCree who spoke up.

Once Morris left the room, things got a little more tense.

"Well, how many did we lose?" McCree asked. Mercy shot him a glare. "I'll ask again, how many did we l-"

"18." Hanzo stopped him. "Two thirds of our entire team."

"Right...right." He went over to a nearby whiteboard and took a marker, popping the cap off and turned to his team.

"Now, let's list 'em." McCree instructed. "Jesse, what are you-" Torbjörn tried to argue, but he was cut off by McCree. "Don't argue, just go with me. Here, I'll start!" He wrote furiously, like he was trying to tear open the whiteboard.

Moira

Zenyatta

Reaper

Three names. They all knew what names they were. "Lúcio, Symmetra, Brigitte." Tracer sighed. "Mei." added. McCree took the names down.

"Ana, Zarya, Roadhog." Winston continued solemnly. "Orisa, Widowmaker, Doomfist, Genji, Junkrat, Pharah, Sombra, and Bastion." Hanzo finished off the list as McCree wrote all the names down, wanting it all to be overwith asap.

Moira

Zenyatta

Reaper

Lúcio

Symmetra

Brigitte

Mei

Ana

Zarya

Roadhog

Orisa

Widowmaker

Doomfist

Genji

Junkrat

Pharah

Sombra

Bastion

Eighteen names on the board. "Right, everyone take a good look at these here names. These good people died because we weren't good enough to save 'em! This is our burden, and until we get the son of a bitch who was responsible for this, we owe them big time!"

"When did you become the leader?" Torbjörn demanded. "I never claimed to be. Until Morris gets back, we only got each other. I figured we could do with some direction before then!"

Jack Morris was walking through the corridors, looking at all the soldiers stationed throughout the complex. Some of the Elite blended in with them, especially Sam Fisher, though other than that, it was easy to identify the Elite from the regular soldiers.

But as he approached a large set of doors, presumably leading to a gym, or a training room of some kind, Morris heard shouting. Was there a fight breaking out? He went to check.

Opening the doors, he was right, as a large room which was filled with training and fitness equipment presented itself before him. But he couldn't see anyone, still hearing the shouting, though it came from the other side of the room.

Morris looked over. He couldn't believe it. There were Roman legionaries. At least fifty of them too. Armed with shields, pilums and sternums, fully dressed in armour, lead by their centurion, Marius Titus. He had them all in an orderly fashion, standing straight and to attention, giving a speech to them as they were ready to seemingly charge into battle.

"The circumstances are dire! Rome has fallen thanks to former emperor Nero's gross negligence!" There were boos from the legionaries. It was only then that Morris noticed that their accents were distinctly English. "Nevertheless, we have a new point of interest with us to defend!"

"I want to see determination, I want to see you fight as if every battle were to be your last!"

Marius beat his chest and saluted. "Ad honorem! Ad victoriam!" He cried. His men repeated.

They beat their chests and saluted. It looked an awful lot like they were gonna start a fourth reich, but Jack recognized it as a Roman Salute. That was the least of his concerns though. Marius was a leader, like him. He had probably suffered many losses, sometimes failing to attain victory. But he kept going? How?

Control. That was what. The tone in his voice, his body language, the way he said every word like he had no doubts in his mind that he was right, and anyone who challenged him was clearly wrong. They would fight until the end of earth, against any enemy.

And it was all down to the one name they were chanting.

"Marius! Marius! Marius!"

"Jesus Rick, do they ever shut up?" Terror Mask asked. Rick was silent, sitting in his very own quarters, which sadly were not soundproof. "Oh come on! You're seriously not still pissed about Jenny, are you?" Rick said nothing. "Well, alright Ricko. I'll give you a little minute if you want, but don't keep on moaning about this. I have to share this body with you, y'know!"

Stepping outside for a second, Rick didn't see much. He just stood there, taking in his new surroundings as he prepared to live with the Microsoft Elite for the forseeable future. Not something he was against, but not something he was over the moon about. Apprehensive, he believed was the right word.

He saw Alex Mercer strolling down the corridor, shooting him a dirty look that kind of said 'What the hell are you looking at freak?' as he walked by. Rick ignored him.

"Jesus. What an asshole." Terror Mask muttered. "You need to stand up to punks like him. Remind them of their place under the sun, y'know?"

"This isn't West Manor anymore." Rick grumbled, still annoyed by his companion that had attached itself to his face.

"Are you sti-" "YES!" Rick yelled, silencing the Terror Mask again, wondering if he'd ever really get over Jenny.

The truth? Probably not.

* * *

Cuphead and Mugman were pretty unsure as to how they should approach The Gunstringer, as he sat on a crate in the storage room, checking out his revolvers.

"What are we going to do?" Cuphead asked. "We'll go up and talk to him. Simple." Cuphead scratched his, well, the rim of his head. "He doesn't look all to approachable." Cuphead remarked, as the skeletal cowboy pretended to fire his revolver at someone who clearly deserved it. "Nonsense, most people are like that when you first meet them, all it takes is a bit of confidence!" He beamed, puffing out his chest proudly.

"Alright then, lead the way." Cuphead prompted, causing Mugman to open one of his eyes. "Excuse me?"

"You were the one who said-" "I was going to say, before I was interrupted, that you would be better suited to greetings with your more friendly and innocent look, dear brother."

"But I didn't interrupt you." Cuphead protested. "Of course not, now get out there and start us off!" Mugman tried to push Cuphead into view of the Gunstringer, only to miss and fall flat, out of his cover.

The Gunstringer noticed and turned to face Mugman. "Well? What do you want?" He asked. "Ah, G-gunstringer, my dear sir, we were just checking on how you were, and-" "Save your tales for later. Why are you here?"

"Well, we figured that since we're going to be working together it would be only natural for us to introduce ourselves." Mugman replied, gaining some confidence.

"You figured wrong then, didn't you?"

Cuphead nudged Mugman. "See, I told you that fancy talk would put him off."

"That ain't got nothing to do with it." The Gunstringer replied, picking up on the conversation. "I'm just not too keen on aliances or gangs."

The way he said those two words made it seem like he despised the concept, as if he was referring to the Capone Mob, or the Church of Scientology, rather than anything remotely decent.

"Y'know, all of us here have good intentions." Mugman started.

"Well ain't that nice?" The Gunstringer threw out the question like an empty wrapper.

Cuphead and Mugman couldn't believe that this was the same guy who had rescued Banjo from certain death. "What about Banjo? You saved him." Mugman quizzed.

"I just don't like it when people, or animals in his case, die like that! Ain't no way for anybody to go!" The Gunstringer raised his voice, and if he wasn't such a restrained individual when it came to curse words, he would've probably told them both to fuck off. Whatever made him so easily agitated,it was clear that he didn't want to talk.

* * *

"So, you really just do whatever you want." Chief confirmed.

Cortana had recommended that Chief get to know the rest of the Elite more, as yet another one of her smart decisions since setting up the team.

"So...you kill people for a living, and you do it for fun."

"I jut need a little entertainment sometimes." Sam tried to reason, to no one on his side.

Alex Mercer smirked. "So, you still prioritize being a dick over saving the world?" Alex shrugged. "Well, that's one way of putting it." Sam shrugged, not entirely conceding, but not entirely agreeing either.

"Alright...I'll see you tomorrow instead." Chief nodded and walked away, not having to walk too far before he encountered Doomguy.

"Hey!" Chief called out, catching Doomguy's attention. Doomguy turned and walked over to him. "Yeah?"

"I just wanted some small talk, if you don't mind. Y'know, so we can get along better. Doomguy didn't put much thought into it before nodding.

"So, what's your real name?" Chief asked. "My name? As in, what people say if they want my attention?" Chief shrugged. "Sort of. What did your parents say when they wanted your attention?"

Doomguy scratched his forehead. "Do-er, I...um...I don't know. I wasn't that great with instrctions to begin with. Most people just call me Doomguy."

"I know, but what did your parents call you?" Doomguy blanked again. "Were you baptised?" Doomguy thought. "Think so."

"Okay, so what were you called then?" He asked. Doomguy became visibly more agitated, attempting to think of his name before he eased up. "I don't know."

Chief was beginning to give up. "Alright, alright. So you were always Doomguy?"

"For as long as I can remember."

"So why did they call you that?"

"I guess I was all about doom and destruction. Might have been from when I was in a band."

Chief sighed. From people who didn't talk to people who didn't like talking to people who didn't know when to stop talking, that was what he had to work with.

He hoped to God Cortana's master plan was nothing less than perfect.

"S-saya..." Irisu remembered the girl with the blue hair from earlier. She introduced herself after she caught Irisu watching her turn the teenagers into mutated goop.

Irisu wanted to say something more, but found the words getting caught in her throat, unable to say what was on her mind. "What is it? Don't tell me you were planning on telling? After I spared you as well." Saya taunted.

"They're gonna find out." Was all she said. Saya stopped. Was there a chance she could be right? No. They didn't have that level of intelligence to figure out that on their own. Any potential snitches would be silenced, no doubt about it.

"I'd like to see them try. Anyway, I heard from someone that I'm supposed to be working for a 'Green Heart'. So, I really don't have time to stick around. Hope we meet again!" With that, she took off, while Cole and Richtofen hauled the disgusting remains out of the house, preparing to dispose of them.

* * *

"New recruits!" Orchid's ears perked up. Anyone was welcome in the fight against Ultratech in her books, to the point where she listed off every individual person who fought against Ultratech on her wrist comms.

When she got down to the shrine gate, TJ and Jago were already there, along with Glacius and Alan Wake. "Hey Orchid, see these new recruits? Even crazier than the zombie we got earlier." TJ pointed. Having looked at them, Orchid really couldn't argue that at all.

The first was an anomaly. He was a fair-skinned man, wearing a baby blue shirt and blue pants with black shoes, and a glowing Diamond Sword in one of his hands, and a rather large rucksack on his back. His hair was a dark brown, but it was cut perfectly. But that wasn't the strangest thing. He was entirely made of cubes and cuboids!

It was even more unnatural that he actually moved like a normal human being. His arms bent without elbows, legs raised without knees, his head turned without a neck, it was all oddly disturbing, though none of them could say he looked intimidating in the least.

"So this is the Microsoft Elite?" Steve looked around. "Man, talk about crazy." Before any of them could interject, their attention turned to the other new recruit.

He looked more human, with actual limbs and facial features that weren't square. His skin was slightly darker than the other recruits, but was still relatively fair. His hair was light brown, same colour as his eyes, and spiky, while he wore a beige shirt and jeans, holding an odd looking sword.

"Terrarian, and Steve." Green Heart announced, leaving them go off and do whatever they pleased. However, they stayed to meet their new teammates. "Name's Steve." Steve shook the hand of TJ. It was...fleshy. Oddly human, given its shape. "TJ Combo." TJ returned the greeting.

The Terrarian looked around for someone similar to introduce himself to. Not really anybody, a girl who looked half asleep, a woman in an impossibly awkward pose with literally grey skin, a zombie, I mean, wow. What a choice.

He settled on the man with the flashlight. "Terrarian. Call me Javier." He said as he shook his hand. "Alan Wake." Alan returned the shake.

With that, everyone returned to what they were doing previously. Except for the KI five. "Hey Orchid, everything alright?" Orchid snapped out of a daze and looked around. "Sorry?" TJ repeated the question. "Everything ok?" Orchid nodded. "Yeah, I was just thinking." TJ raised an eyebrow. "Uh-hu. Thinking about what?" TJ pressed.

"The new recruits. I mean, they were weirder than Hisako." A cough made the rogue agent jump. Hisako was behind her, wearing a dreary expression on her face. "Oh, I didn't mean-" "It's okay. I g-ge-g-get it a lot. Not exactly m-m-mi-miss universe."

Everyone had already moved on though, to the new recruits. "I say they got some tricks up their sleeves. Can't be nothing." Glacius agreed. "It's certainly a case where there's more to them than meets the eye."

But as for now, no one knew. Only time would tell.

* * *

"Alright Chief, what do you think?" Cortana asked. "There's some...tough ones to figure out. I'm not sure this is foolproof." Cortana sighed. "I know. But the way things are...gotta work with what we have."

"So what's the plan?" Chief asked. "Briefing tomorrow on our mission goals, I'll tell you then." Chief chuckled. "You really aren't giving me anything to work with, are you?"

"Trust me Chief." Cortana reassured him. "They need to hear this. Once you hear it too, everything else I tell you is gonna make a lot more sense."

* * *

The human village in Gensokyo was the epitome of tranquility, even with all of the crazy stuff going on around it. Especially in the early hours of the morning, when the day was just starting. No one payed much attention to the Shadowman's presence, though he did get one or two odd looks as he walked through.

It was when he got out of the village, making sure no one would be able to see him, that he began to feel the ripples in reality as it tore open.

"Is that the Shadowman?" A voice asked. The Shadowman walked into the rip without responding.

He took a look at the person to which the voice belonged. Shorter than him by a full foot at minimum, with pale skin, yellow eyes, yellow medium length hair, yes yellow, not blond, and a red bow in her hair. She wore a white and pink dress and a red vest over that, and she had two angellic wings sprouting out of her back. Though anyone who took this as a sign of her being good natured was wrong.

This was no angel. This was a demon.

"Gengetsu, yes?" The Shadowman smirked as he looked around the nightmarish dream world. "Well, ARIA told no tales. You really do seem like quite the intimidator." Gengetsu stepped back as the Shadowman neared. "Yes, that's me. A lady with weird hair told me you'd be coming. What do you want?" She asked. "I want only to assist you. Does the name Reimu Hakurei ring any bells?" She said nothing, but a pained expression on her face said it all. "I thought so. Well, my dear Gengetsu. I'm offering you a chance at revenge."

Gengetsu's expression softened a little, but remained skeptical. "I...how do I know I can trust you?"

The Shadowman tutted. "Come now. I agree to meet on your terms, in your dream world, and even knowing we probably wouldn't need you if all we were looking for was to cause a few nightmares. Gengetsu, you are young. It pains me to see youth like that lost to bitter grudges which are never sated.

"Well...I...fine. But only for now." Gengetsu was slowly becoming more and more hostile as the Shadowman spent more and more time in her dream realm.

"Well, what the hell are we standing around here for?" Gengetsu opened up a portal. "Let's get out."

The Shadowman smiled and obliged. "As you wish..." Knowing that with her on his side, victory was closer than ever before.

 _ **Author's Note**_

Finally got around to Cortana's side. One thing I wanted to do more of in ME is having more character development, and these chapters are just me trying to give each of the characters an established personality. I kind of like using humour for that, at least for some characters. Splitting up the characters into 2 teams of 30 was also supposed to help.

Overwatch is going to be a conundrum. I'll probably use their code names for the whole thing, without using their real name for most of it (unless their name is the same in both events). Jack Morris in this case will be Morris, because we already have enough Jacks on this roster.

Gengetsu has been introduced. Okay, this is the last Touhou character. Suggestion from a dm, and I like the villain.

Short chapter, but not a lot to say, and I'm tired once again, but feel like uploading. So here we are.

More will be happening next time, so Until then, thanks for reading!


	15. We have everyone!

It had been a few days since Marisa's traumatic incident, and it had been the worst few days of her life. She had to learn how to walk again, calming her nerves as she hoped every step would end with her foot firmly on the floor, as opposed to her falling down yet again.

Using her hands proved difficult too. Grabbing things, moving her fingers individually, writing (though it was something Marisa did little of) was all made harder by the fact that they were all bandaged up, after the Medic had removed all the glass shards from her hand. He forgot to use painkillers, but at least he did a good job, and got every last one of them.

Her house had since been tidied, and it looked like a place where people might have lived. Marisa was initially panicked to find all 'her' books returned to the Scarlet Devil Mansion library, but...she couldn't stay mad.

Why? One not so simple reason.

It took place over a few days though, not easy to explain. Also, that wasn't the only other thing that had happened. New recruits were added to the team.

Nemesis and Saya had been introduced, with Nemesis preferring to spend most of his time aimlessly wandering around, one bad word away from being provoked into a rage which had to be calmed down by Saya. They had no idea how she did it, but everytime he got upset, she calmed him down.

Speaking of Saya, she was keeping a close eye on Irisu, still concerned that the rabbit girl might open her mouth to someone about what really happened.

Irisu was feelin every second of it too, and her usually minor social anxiety was amplified to reach the point where she wouldn't even look at any of the other members, scared to death of what Saya might have done to her if she accidentally let something slip.

Even just walking up to her, Saya was greeted with a stuttered "I didn't tell anyone." before anything else, sometimes running off on her own. Though there were more recruits since then, and there was something about these ones...something that made Green Heart click.

"Well, what do you think so far?" The boy with blond, spiky hair and blue eyes, wearing the green and blue striped shirt asked.

"I have no idea what to think of it." The Steef responded. The Steef's name was Stranger. Literally. Steefs were an odd species, from an odd world, called Oddworld. Somewhat humanoid, though they were sort of looked down upon, thought of as the people who did the dirty work no one else wanted to do.

He dressed like a cowboy, and looked like a human, even sporting a cowboy style neckbeard, until you got to his face. He had something of a snout instead of his nose, and cat's eyes. "I can't believe that lady offered us so much moolah for a single job." Stranger muttered, obviously suspicious of the nature of the job.

Shu was the next person to speak up. A young child who was born with a dragon guardian inside him, known as Blue Dragon, which he had to tame. "Well, if we get a chance to defeat evil again, it'll be all worth it!"

Shu was pale skinned, from rural northern Japan, though he spoke perfect english and had been living with enough english speakers to give him an american accent, a long story, but then again, we're talking about the child with a dragon in his stomach.

Aside from that, he had long black hair tied in a high ponytail which sort of exploded out into every direction, defying gravity. He had a bo staff, and wore a black vest, and a red shirt around his waist to hold up his yellow pants.

"The sooner we get back to fighting...he he. Maybe I'll finally get a good matchup for me in a fight."

That was Blue Dragon. Shu's literal soulmate. There wasn't a lot to say about him. He was blue all over, except the tips of his claws, which were black, and then his eyes, which were bright red. His anatomy was very similar to that of a common depiction of dragons in fiction, with scales, wings, claws as mentioned, sharp teeth and horns. But as you approached where his tail should have been, you saw that Shu and Blue Dragon were literally attached, as Blue Dragon emerged from Shu.

"Do not get so excitable." A voice whisepered from above, causing the rest to stop. "Ezio, we know it's you. Come on down." Blue Dragon ordered. Ezio did as instructed, dropping down for the rest of the team.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze was a master assassin, hailing from Italy. He wore a traditional robe of the assassins at the time of the rennaisance, a symbol of when and where he was from. His iron gauntlets housed his hidden blades, the key tool in any assassination, though he was packing more weapons, concealed by his robe. "Jeez." Cooper remarked. "You prepared for war or something?"

"Yes." Ezio responded, without much humour in his voice. "Cheer up." The last member retorted.

"One day we'll have peace again." The alien beast muttered.

He was a pale blue scale covered alien wearing armour, and wielding several alien weapons. His name, was Brutus, the brawn of his old team, but not without intellect. Their leader, since they had met just outside Gensokyo. Attacked by a lone robot, which was then identified as a 'Fuglore', manufactured by Ultratech.

Stranger, with him, had an ordinary teenager in Cooper Chance, the boy prodigy Shu, the master assassin Ezio, and the extra-terrestrial Brutus. They had been walking for days, as evidenced by some of their tired expressions, especially Shu, with him being the youngest of the group. Attacks by zombies were few and far between, but the posse had their fair share of close calls on the way, leading them to Green Heart.

"You the queen around these parts?" Was Stranger's first question. Green Heart shook her head. "You'll have to talk about this with Yukari. I'm head of the Microsoft Elite, though Yukari will argue she's the strongest around here." Green Heart explained. "I'll take no then..." Stranger muttered, not really sure who 'Yukari' was.

No one had any other questions, but there was one other member. It was when Green Heart was floating above the shrine, shortly after meeting with the six newcomers. Twenty nine. Her sources told her thirty would be the last, and had even sent him an invite, though he had yet to make any response.

Green Heart looked down. There was the last member. Nightmarish and all as he was, he wore a smile on his face, holding up an invite to the Microsoft Elite, the only written invite any of them had received. He waved at Green Heart, letting his friendly demeanour show. The Goddess of Microsoft felt no fear looking at him, but she knew Naughty Bear was going to be quite a handful for a few members.

Naughty looked naturally intimidating for a start. A discarded teddy bear, who looked like he had come back from the dead to murder those who wronged him. That wasn't at all true, but looking at his dirtied brown and white wool, now a dark grey, with bits of him missing or being stitched up, if he were a human he'd still probably manage to be creepy. But being a life size teddy bear added to the nightmare factor, despite his friendly and docile nature.

"Naughty Bear." Green Heart didn't really do a good job at hiding her slight disgust. She did manage to compose herself though, getting back her composed expression and clearing her throat. "Welcome to the Microsoft Elite. Any questions?"

Naughty couldn't speak. He couldn't even make noises, as his voice box was broken, and teddy bears couldn't really separate their lips. Nothing painful or anything like that, it was natural for them. But not being able to speak meant the majority of their communications were done through expression and sign language.

Naughty signed, asking where he could find the other members. "Well...they should be around somewhere, all doing their own thing. Oh. Don't take it personally, but...they might find you a little creepy."

Naughty frowned, but nodded, showing his understanding. Sad story really, but that was for another time.

* * *

"So what is that blood for?" It was Team Fortress' Medic that had asked. Richtofen knew he was talking about the blood vials he kept hanging off a keychain on his jacket, marked with dates and everything. "It was a potential cure for the undead condition. It didn't work, but I like to keep it for hope."

Right now, Richtofen had other issues. Monty was chewing him out, for one. The relationship they had was a rocky one at best, though they had the same goal, and the two, along with Tank, Nikolai and Takeo.

"I'm not entirely sure why I keep you around." Monty sighed, running a hand through the little grey hair. "But I suppose it's no use crying over spilt milk, or, in this case, crying over milk you drank, is it, Richtofen?" Richtofen appeared unfazed by the accusation. "Well, first of all, that analogy was awful." He said, still not taking anything seriously.

"It's not about analogies!" Monty snapped. "It's about preserving the fabric of the universe, which you have done your best to fuck up!"

"That's hardly fair. Without us, there wouldn't be a universe to save." Richtofen countered. "Listen." Monty's tone changed. "There's a war here between Gods, God killers, demons, superhumans, the finest intellectual minds in the world and many more things that could wipe out a crazy German scientist immediately. If I were you, I would have taken the easy way out. Go into nonexistance. Let the problem sort itself out!"

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Richtofen retalliated. "I don't believe you to be a bad person, Monty. I can undestand your anger at...what has happened. But I am here for a reason, like it or not. You know better than anyone else that Nikolai, Dempsey, Takeo and I hold with us the potential to defeat the Shadowman once und for all, and we intend to use it."

* * *

Back at Ultratech's headquarters, in a lounge area, the villains were introduced to Gengetsu. No one was sitting down, all of them on their toes against the dream demon.

"A dream eater?" Dr. West mused. "No. A nightmare creature. Much more sinister." The Shadowman responded. "I'd be careful what you say around her, you might not live to regret it." L.O.G. dismissed the threat, seeing as he needed no sleep. "Curious. Very curious. What might the purpose of such a member be?" Strategically depriving them of sleep? Sending ominous messages, perhaps turning them against each other would be the best method."

"We could also just kill them in their sleep where they are powerless to fight back." The Shadowman suggested. Though, it wasn't really a suggestion, more so an order which he had given Gengetsu before she has even started working with him.

"It's perfect." The Devil rubbed his hands together in glee, realizing how easily victory could come to him within minutes. "Those brothers won't even know what hit them!"

"I'll be able to get that skeletal freak for humiliating me at last!" The Lady of the Dead laughed. Dr. West looked at her, his thoughts obviously about a kettle and a pot. "What are you looking at?!" The Lady of the Dead demanded, noticing the staring.

"Nothing, I was merely attempting to see around you, that is all!" West covered.

The Shadowman knew Dr. Henry West for quite some time. He was clearly insane, as normal human would be to join their ranks, but he didn't show much of it around anyone else on the team. Clearly insanity didn't protect him from feeling fear, as West's more reserved behaviour in front of his allies. That was to be expected though, as the Shadowman had analyzed. He didn't come unprepared.

But before he could continue with his thoughts, the doors to the lounge bust open.

It was a humanoid figure, dark blue all over. His arms and feet were clawed, and he had demonic wings sporuting out of his back which seemed to dissipate as soon as he landed in the room.

Light blue flows of what looked like electricity visibly coursed through his body like a skeleton, and his face appeared like a rock mask, while his eyes and mouth were a bright light blue. "I am Omen!" His booming and otherworldly voice introduced. How he had gotten this far into Ultratech unnoticed was beyond the Shadowman, but it didn't concern him. What did concern him though, was what he had to say.

"I bring news." Omen continued. "News of the return of the Dark Lord, Gargos." The Shadowman knew that name, ever since he had confronted ARIA about it. "What is it Gargos has to say?" The Shadowman quizzed, curious to learn about his latest foe. "He will return with his army!" Omen boomed, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He will have yet another dimension under his mighty control before long. As for those who inhabit this dimension, he sends me amongst others to warn you that only two options remain; Submit or die!"

There was silence. "Tell your moronic leader I shall surrender to none!" L.O.G. huffed, visibly annoyed that anyone would threaten him. "Same goes for me too pal!" The Devil added. "He's gonna have to do a lot to get me to stop!" The Lady of the Dead agreed. West said nothing, though there wasn't anything else he could've.

"Gee, if Gargos is so strong, how come he isn't here?" Gengetsu asked. "The Dark Lord speaks through his minions!"

Gengetsu gasped, before playfully, but also sinisterly giggling. "So you're his army?"

"Of course I am! I am the Herald of Gargos!" Omen proudly boasted. "Uh-oh, an invader!" Gengetsu pointed. "Yes, and if you do-" He was cut off as Gengetsu tackled Omen to the ground with overwhelming strength, and pinned him. "What is the meaning of this?!" Omen demanded.

"Get him!" Gengetsu cheered. "Enough small child, I demand you-oof!" Omen was cut off as one L.O.G.'s arms hit him in the head. Before long, Omen was on the receiving end of an almighty beating from Gengetsu, the Devil, L.O.G. and the Lady of the Dead, with no end in sight.

The Shadowman chuckled a little, the retalliation coming as a surprise to even him. But it was back to his train of thought, his preparations. He observed the Lord of Games, the Lady of the Dead, the Devil, Dr. West and Gengetsu, knowing that the most powerful of them was not there.

Yes, despite everything going for L.O.G. and the Devil, he placed Ultratech's robotic CEO ahead of them. Why? She was smart. The other two often let their egos cloud their judgement. They preferred to underestimate their opponents and overestimate their own ability, while ARIA did not. That was something he and her had in common, not letting their enemies grow powerful before killing them off. After all, it only made sense for them to take care of problems that way.

But while ARIA's competence as a leader, and influence over the world were valuable assets to the Shadowman's hopes of finally killing Monty, they were also his biggest problem.

* * *

"Morning Cole!" Monika cheerily greeted. "How are you?" It had since been only a few days since Cole and Monika started talking, but yet they were already becoming more familiar with one another. Monika's accent began to take a more American tone, sounding more and more like it every day.

He glanced at the desk, still a little messy, and took notice of...poetry? In a messy pile, though there was some shape to it.

"And in your reality, if I don't know how to love you..." He didn't have time to read much into the words before he focused his attention on Monika.

Cole took a mental note of the poetry, before looking back at Monika. "Is this yours?"

Monika looked at the pile. "This? Yeah, it's stuff I meant to throw away. I wrote it for a guy I liked once. We...weren't meant to be."

Cole bit his lip. "Sorry about that."

There was silence for a minute, before Monika broke it again.

"So, how'd the investigation go?" Cole raised his eyebrows. "Word really does travel fast..."

"Yeah. I can't believe something like that would happen. They were younger than me! I mean, I can't imagine what it'd be like to die so young...and to kill them like that. That's disgusting. I mean, how heartless would you have to be to do something like that?!"

Cole bit his lip. "I came across a lot of those people, back in-" He stopped himself, not wanting to reveal too much. "...my first years here."

"What happened then?" Monika asked. "It's not important."

"I'm sorry you had to see something like that." Monika continued.

Cole raised his eyebrow.

"Those kids." Monika explained. "It was supposedly the most disgusting thing anyone in Gensokyo had ever seen."

"But they didn't." Cole pointed out. "I'm sure of it, I buried the remains before anyone saw them."

"I was talking about the father who saw them." Monika rephrased. Then she paused, twiddling her fingers before sighing. "Cole, I'm not sure how I should say this, but I saw a blue haired girl go into the forest, and well...she was the only one that came out as well."

Cole had received the same description from Irisu, and both of them matched one person.

"Small petit body, pale skinned, white dress?" The detective asked. Monika nodded. "Saya..." Cole muttered. "I knew there was something up." Then Cole turned his attention back to the literature club president.

"Monika, are you sure you don't know anything about this case?" Cold asked, skeptical as ever. "...not entirely. I've read about aliens that can alter their appearance to humans, and break their minds with their original form."

Cole put two and two togther, and figured out quickly what Monika was saying. Now, if this was Los Angeles, he would've flipped his shit at her for wasting police time, but in Gensokyo, anything was possible.

"You think Saya could do that?" Monika shrugged. "I don't know enough about 'Saya', whoever she is, to say that, but it's definitely someone."

Cole stood up. "Wait, you're going already?" Monika seemed disappointed, but Cole had made up his mind about leaving.

"I have to go. I'm sorry, but I'll be back tomorrow." Cole explained. He ran for the door, running straight out and back towards the shrine.

Monika was still at the desk, but she was smiling. He'd be back. He certainly would.

* * *

So what was it that made Marisa so incapable of anger?

Well, someone cared, for a start. Alice sent some of her dolls to help clean up, and even payed a visit, but that wasn't it.

It was Reimu.

She had, in her own words 'taken time off' Shrine Maiden duty, to look after her best friend.

"Come on, Marisa! You're almost there!" Reimu tried to encourage her, with Marisa's right foot shaking as it hovered over the floor precariously.

"I can't!" Marisa shut her eyes and kept her foot in the air. "Alright, I guess I'll have to tell Patchy her books are here for the-" She stopped as soon as she heard Marisa's right foot hit the floor. Reimu laughed. "Feeling a little better?" Marisa pouted a little, but ultimately conceded, as she finally found her footing and became confident with walking. It was embarrassing for Reimu to have to see her like this, yet the Shrine Maiden didn't mock her. She would playfully tease Marisa from time to time, providing her with enough motivation to get through a certain task or become more confident with something trivial.

Riding a broom was one area where she got her revenge. Marisa was pretty cocky as Reimu sat on her broom, uncertainty and worry on her face. "Are you sure you don't wanna...y'know, take this one yourself?" Reimu asked, looking for a way out. "I need _someone_ to show me the ropes." She teased, taking her hat and placing it on Reimu's head. "It's just like flying, but...y'know, with a broom, ze."

"I'm still not sure about this; Are you sure there's no one-" Marisa shook her head. She was adamant that Reimu do it. Sighing, Reimu stepped on the broom like a skateboard, and it took off.

Inevitably, Reimu lost her footing and fell, obviously lacking in skill when it came to riding a broom.

"Woah, heads up Marisa!" The Shrine Maiden called out as she headed towards the ground, unable to steady herself. Marisa, for whatever reason, did not move. Just staring at Reimu as she fell out of the sky, only stepping back before she was about to hit the ground. Only problem; Marisa tripped herself while moving back, leaving Reimu to crash into her with no resistance whatsoever.

Marisa's head and back hurt a little, but luckily that was all, probably because Reimu was as light as a feather. She should have been scolding her for trying to kill her, or laughing at her failure, but Marisa couldn't.

It was the same reason she couldn't feel angry, as Reimu slowly picked herself up, coming face to face with Marisa, asking the witch if she was okay.

With their faces so close, Marisa felt her cheeks burning up, like they were trying to cook a steak or something, everytime she stared into Reimu's eyes...her beautiful...beautiful blue eyes...

Her hair was beautiful too. It looked so soft and delicate, with her petit frame complimenting it perfectly.

Marisa...didn't understand. It was strange, unlike anything she'd ever felt. It was like...she was sick? Maybe a result of PTSD? Did she even have PTSD? Who knew?

She had to tell someone, and get help. But she couldn't tell any of the Elite, not a chance. No, they could tell Reimu, and there was a chance none of them would know.

"Uh...yeah. I-I'm fine." Marisa nodded, not knowing exactly how much of that was true. "Well, I guess I know for sure now I can't ride a broom, huh?" Reimu laughed, picking herself up.

Marisa pondered. She knew that if she was looking for someone to tell her what was wrong, and someone who wasn't a member of the Microsoft Elite.

It might have easily backfired, but Marisa was desperate, and there was only one person in Gensokyo who was certain to know what was wrong.

Patchouli Knowledge was the only option.

* * *

Green Heart smiled a confident smile, like the war had been won. "Alright. That makes thirty."

Dr. Monty raised his eyebrow. "Is that all? Thirty? I could have sworn we had more." Green Heart nodded. "We do. But for what I want...we're gonna need just 30 of them. Tell Yukari there's an announcement coming in 15 minutes. She can pass it on to the rest of the Elite. We're ready to move."

 ** _Author's Note_**

So the two factions are finally united. What's gonna happen next? I have the framework planned out, but I'm looking into some things as to how I'm going to write it.

Having all the components together is certainly a benefit, now I have more freedom to do what I want, and I feel like everything's more organized and manageable.

As for the things here, I'm a fan of ReiMarisa. But I'm not here to write smut, I think what I'm going to do might leave a bad taste in some people's mouthes, but I'm confident I can make it work.

The whole thing with Omen started off as a joke I ended up liking way too much. Don't worry, he'll be back.

Thanks for reading!


	16. Briefing

Gargos seemed a little disappointed to see one of his Omen return home looking a little worse for wear. "Well?" He asked. "Did you warn them?"

"Yes my Lord. They just...wanted to warn you back." Gargos raised an eyebrow. "A most curious decision. They think they can stand up to me? You know I can see your memories with touch, don't you?"

Omen nodded. "Of course, my Lord." He then presented himself so the warlord could see what he had seen. A few minutes later, Gargos released. "Most curious...the Shadowman...the Lord of Games...and...that lady. Gengetsu, I believe her name was. I was impressed by that move. Omen!" He called out. "Yes sir!" Omen responded, ready for duty again. "I want you to go back. Make an offer to that Gengetsu lady to abandon those savages and come with me instead. I wish to see her develop under my wing." Omen felt a chill run down his spine. "My Lord, perhaps we could pursue a less dangerous target? I just don't think-" "Do I pay you to talk back, Omen?"

"You don't pay me at all, actually..." Omen muttered. "Exactly. Now bring me this Gengetsu lady!"

* * *

"Alright, that makes 30." Green Heart announced. The Elite had been gathered to the Shrine, ready to be briefed on what it was they were going to do. As for the non-Elite members, they had just stood back as not to be counted.

"30? There's 28 of us." Reimu pointed out. "Not exactly. You'll see when we..." Vert realized they were about to find out something major. "I should probably tell you now I have no intention of making the Shrine our base of operations. We're moving."

There was muttering, as the Elite had no idea where they were going to get moved to. "Hang on, what about the shrine? Surely you don't expect me to leave it unattended?" Reimu quizzed. Green Heart sighed. "Think of it this way, Reimu. The work we do is vital to the security of everything in this world, including the Hakurei Shrine. Without this, there won't be a Shrine to attend to."

Reimu wanted to protest, but looking around at everyone else, and realizing Green Heart had a point, she conceded. "Well...I guess...I...could leave the shrine...for a few days..." She muttered. "Excellent. It's not that far away either."

Green Heart turned to Yukari. "You know where it is, right?" Yukari nodded and opened another tear in reality. "Well?" Green Heart signalled for them all to go through. "It's not like it's a trap or anything. It's just quicker this way."

Uncertain, but hoping she told the truth, Reimu stepped through. Followed by Marisa.

Reimu then stepped back through, a look of shock on her face. "What's on the other side?" TJ asked. "We safe or not?"

"I...you need to see this." She gestured to the rift, and all the Elite followed her through.

Once through, they all understood Reimu's gobsmacked reaction.

Green Heart had a smug grin on her face, pleased by their reactions. "Welcome to my country. This is Leanbox!" She announced.

It was...magnificent. Green and white were the colours of the futuristic country, which had truly remarkable urban development. The building they were approaching towered above all of them, somewhat spaced away from the rest. "This is the Basilicom. It's my centre of operations in Leanbox."

"So, you're basically the government?" Balrog asked. "Heh, boss might wanna know about something like this..." he then muttered. "Yes and no. I am their Goddess. Their CPU."

"Central Processing Unit?" Orchid asked, confused. "Console Patron Unit." Green Heart corrected her. "I am directly tied to this nation. It depends on my wellbeing, and I depend on it. If Cortana were to attack me, she would weaken me to the point of death no doubt..."

"Hang on, I'm lost." The Terrarian piped up. "What's the whole deal with all this?" Green Heart dismissed his concerns. "I'll tell all later, you need not worry.

Though Reimu would not admit it, this place was far more enjoyable than Genskyo. Stepping into the main entrance confirmed those thoughts. It was decorated really well, like one of those Catholic Cathedrals or Buddhist Temples Sakuya told her about, and overall, it did look like a place of worship. It did kind of make sense then, considering that Green Heart told them she was a Goddess, so the residents of Leanbox probably did worship her.

Then a door opened. "Green Heart, you wanted to see us?" The voice asked. Green Heart then remembered. "Oh yes, and there's the last two members of the Elite." She, along with the rest of the Elite, looked over to the duo that had just entered the room.

The first was a voodoo doll, probably only half a foot tall, patched up with pieces that clearly didn't belong to him, a large head, bigger than the rest of his body, with pins and needles sticking into him. He was of course sentient, so he had eyes that blinked, a mouth that moved, and arms and legs that he could move, all making him seem very surreal and cartoonish.

The other was a white man, dressed like an archetypal FBI agent, black suit with a white shirt. His tie was crimson red, and he had short brown hair with green eyes.

"Francis York Morgan, and Voodoo Vince."

"An FBI agent?!" Soldier stormed up to the front and saluted Francis. "At your service Mr. Vince sir!"

After explaining to Soldier who was who, the Elite moved on to the rest of the Basilicom.

The Basilicom was a magnificent place, overseeing her entire nation. You could even see the massive tower shaped like a table with the xbox logo in the top center. It was designed to be the Capitol Building, but also accomodate Green Heart's living needs...and admittedly luxuries. It was guarded well too, by armed troops who looked ready to kill if someone so much as took the toy from the cereal box without Green Heart's permission.

"They are vigilant, but not hostile. All they care about is my safety." That was what Green Heart had to say.

There was one room that looked like a conference room, with patriotic Leanbox symbols and crests stuck around the place, the green X mostly, but there were a few portraits of soldiers. There was, of course, a table. It was ridiculously long, as if designed to accomodate 100 people more than the 60 or so that were there. Green Heart explained to them that it was because in her early days of ruling Leanbox, diplomacy was something she had a hard time understanding the concept of, and foreign relations would have often been settled violently if there weren't so many people to hold her back.

"We better talk first." Green Heart suggested. "Or else we're wasting time."

As over 30 members sat at the table, largely down to Team Fortress, though Richtofen and the Killer Instinct cast pitched in with their numbers, Green Heart counted just the Elite.

"Now, it's time you learned about our greatest enemy. It's not the Shadowman, nor ARIA. It's this AI." A holographic projection of Cortana appeared on the other side of the room.

"Cortana controls the other half of the Microsoft Elite." Green Heart explained.

"If she controls the other half of the Elite, shouldn't we stop fighting and look to work together?" Steve asked.

"I wish it were that simple. You see..."

Unknown to Green Heart however, Cortana was giving her Elite an identical talk.

"We're all here?" Cortana asked. "Good." She nodded, looking around. "We can begin."

"So what's the reason for this whole assembly?" The Jack asked, a little irritated once he looked around and noticed his company, obviously deeming them to be inferior.

"I guess I should introduce myself first." Cortana began. "I am Cortana. I'm an Artificial Intelligence created by Microsoft to oversee this universe. Make sure the worlds stay separated, unless I can be sure it's safe and regulated, and also to keep an eye on popular individuals under my watch."

"You were all selected to take an oath, swearing yourself to the Microsoft Elite, though your memories were wiped afterwards to prevent you from gaining knowledge of other worlds and possibly corrupting you. Though you were only able to join once you were accepted by our audience."

"Audience?" Jack Walters repeated. "You mean like a show or something? Is that what this is?" Cortana knew it was going to be tough to explain, but she had to. "Look, I don't know how else I can tell you this...but you're all...all of you...are videogame characters."

Some of them were shocked. Some of them weren't as they knew already, or simply didn't care. Others, on the other hand, had no idea what a videogame was.

"A...videogame." Dovahkiin repeated. "What is such a thing?"

"A videogame is...hang on." Cortana paused. "A video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device such as a TV screen or computer monitor."

"Did you get that off Wikipedia?" Conker demanded, suddenly snapping out of a drunken daze. He was ignored.

"Your video games were a success on my two platforms in particular; The Xbox and PC."

"So...none of this..." Jack Walters was starting to panic. "None of this matters?! All that time...all that work-was I throwi-" "Calm down!" Cortana ordered. Walters did so, though Cortana realized she had sounded harsh and unsympathetic. "Of course this matters. All of this is real. Just not in the way you might have imagined. But that's another story."

"I agree." Death's Hand spoke up. "It is clear that there are many far greater problems for us presently than that. Pray tell me, why are our enemies this way?"

"Well, that's kind of what I wanted to get to. Y'see, even though we've encountered other enemies, Dr. West, the Lord of Games and so on, our greatest enemy is someone else." A holographic projection of Green Heart appeared at the centre of the table. "This is Green Heart. She used to be a great ally of mine, though now, things are different..."

As both Cortana and Vert began talking, it became obvious that there was a parrallel. They had the same goal, and had split in half the most powerful team they could find. They were willing to do anything to make sure the other was no longer a threat, and the Elite on both sides knew it.

"Cortana is a puppet of ARIA. She leads her Elite down a path that might take care of the other villains, but will ultimately make sure we all face death."

"Green Heart is corrupted. Why, I can't understand, but she's a powerful ally. That's why the villains needed her. If we don't convince the other half of the Elite to join our side, we don't stand a chance of defeating the rest of the villains."

"So, what can we do?" Francis asked. "What else?" Green Heart looked determined, having made up her mind a long time ago. "We have to go to war. The Elite under her control are too far gone. We may even have to kill them, though I hope we can bring them here and convince them of their faults."

"Vert would love nothing more than for all 60 of you to be killed off so nothing stood in her way. We're going to have to detain her side of the Elite."

Isaac stood up. "Wait!" Everyone's head turned to him. "Back when I was with the Playstation All-Stars, we were able to use this stuff called All-Star Power. It allowed us to take care of our enemies in non-lethal ways, surely you have something similar we could use."

Cortana smiled. "I'm glad you brought that up."

"Those battles we had, there's a connection." Jago spoke up. "It only appears possible between ourselves. Fighting others..." He noticed Orchid staring at him. "...it is ineffective." He knew he would have to explain, but it was not for now.

"Ah yes. Elite Matchups." Green Heart began to explain. "You see, when two members of the Microsoft Elite cross weapons or arms to form an 'X' with the intent to battle, an Elite Matchup is formed."

"You have a set range of attacks, and you can pull weapons out of thin air. You also have a meter which you can build up by both dishing out and taking damage. Use these moves to deal serious damage, or help yourself out by giving you some serious advantages."

"Each of you will have different strengths and weaknesses in battle, though you probably already know what they are. There is one more move that can end a fight though. At times during a match, a green vial may appear in the arena, though it can sometimes be hidden. If you find this vial, you can use your Elite Factor."

"Your Elite Factor can effectively guarantee victory, _if_ you don't get cocky. It might be a match ending move, a few seconds of unbelievable power, or a permanent upgrade which makes victory all the easier to reach."

"That's all fine," Kaim spoke up. "But what happens once the match is over. Do we return?" Once again, Cortana had an answer prepared. "Right. This may sound a little strange, but bear with me."

Green Heart was explaining the same thing. "Your opponent will remain vulnerable to one more attack. If you choose a non-fatal attack, they will fall to the ground and the match will end. When you both return to the real world, they will be injured, but not too seriously. Some may go unconcious, but for a few minutes at most."

"Then you have the option of fatality. All you need to do is think. Think of how much you want to win, what you're willing to do to win. You'll see a green vector outline of what will happen to your opponent. Once you see this, you need to mentally accept it, and it will happen, your opponent will be killed, and once you return to reality, they will be unconcious for hours. A perfect opportunity to capture them where they stand."

Green Heart looked around. It was obvious to everyone in the room how they were going to go about detaining Cortana's Elite. "We'll need to find them, and engage them. I'd suggest you practice your fighting skills, I wouldn't bet against them being pretty damn eager to capture you too."

Cortana stopped talking, to make sure everyone was on the same page as her.

"Everyone following me?" They all nodded. "What do you suggest we do next?" Kameo asked. "I have it planned out. We still need to attack the other villains. This means Ultratech, the Shadowman, Lord of Games, all of them need to go. I've arranged for you to be split up into teams and take on different tasks."

They all looked around, wondering who they'd be teamed up with.

"Gunstringer, Marcus, Banjo, Kazooie, Conker, Kameo and Marius. I'm assigning you to an ambush of Leanbox. We'll talk about the terrain, but all you need to know is that it's Vert's base of operations. I hope to strike while it's weak. She'll probably have all her Elite out looking for me."

She continued. "Dovakhiin, Alex, Kasumi, Ryu, Rick, Shovel Knight, Sun Kin, Doomguy and the Jack are assigned to attacking the Lord of Games. He is the weak link amongst them all, and the one we must attack first. Overwatch is assigned to Liberty City. Taking it could mean that we have a second stronghold, which will be pretty important if ae want to divide the enemies and conquer them that way. Finally, Chief, Shepard, Fisher, Walters, Joanna and Jason are coming with me to Ultratech HQ. I'll tell you about my plan later. Anyone who's name I have not called out will stay and guard the base."

"Right, I've got my assignments here. Team Fortress, you're taking a place called Liberty City. Eliminate any threats and notify me when you're done, and I'll fortify it as a stronghold. I'm sending Saya, Nemesis, Gordon, Booker, Elizabeth, Irisu and Naughty to tackle the Devil. He's pretty cocky, could fall easily to an unsuspecting attack."

Looking at the names again for a brief moment, Green Heart continued. "Francis, Orchid, TJ, Balrog, 47, Jago and Glacius are assigned to Ultratech HQ. Get in there, take what you can and get out. We'll need anything we can that could help us take down Ultratech. Finally, Richtofen, Steve, Terrarian, Reimu, Marisa, Cole and Madotsuki are going to evacuate Gensokyo. The people won't be safe in the village, especially not with the Shadowman planning an attack. They need to be lead out, and into Leanbox asap. Anyone not mentioned is guarding the base. I wouldn't be surprised if there was an attack on the base from Cortana, or any of our other enemies for that matter."

The Elite nodded. "Understood. When should we be moving?" Tank Dempsey asked, ready to get back on the battlefield.

"Not for a day, at least. Cortana would love an immediate attack. We'll take a day to plan."

Immediately, Orchid dragged Jago aside. "You let him win again?!" She hissed. "I had no other choice." Jago countered. "You always have a choice! You let him dictate you like you're his property or something. Jago, do you have any idea how serious this is?! Who the hell was it this time?!"

"A demonic creature. It attacked me first, I defended myself. It did live however." Jago was quick to add. "No. _He_ defended you. He needs you alive too. I swear, if you just asked for help..." She went to put her hand on his shoulder, but Jago swatted it away, a mix of insulted and offended. "I need no help! This is my fight, and my fight alone."

Now it was Orchid's turn to look offended. But, it looked more hurt than anything else. She then hardened her expression, and walked off without any more words.

Jago sighed. He still loved his sister. Though it wasn't just their complexions that made it hard to tell that they were siblings. Their relationship was a sinking ship. And it was his fault. One day, he would defeat Gargos, and make it all right for Orchid, he swore.

So the two superpowers were about to collide. Both sides convinced their soldiers that they were right, and diplomacy wasn't a high priority on anyone's agenda. The civil war in the Microsoft world had begun.

 _ **Author's Note**_

So not a lot to say here, only the war has begun! Sorry if your favourite character wasn't assigned any, doesn't mean they won't get time to themselves.

Vince and Morgan were forgotten :P (Thanks for the heads up JP!) but they're here now, so I guess I was able to rectify the situation, though it was always intended that Vert's Elite would move to Leanbox. It just made sense, though Reimu would initially be hesitant about leaving the Shrine.

Also, Gargos is gonna be in later chapters, as well as Omen...pray for Omen. You'll understand why.


	17. Consider this

"Come on you stupid piece of shit!" Saya uncharacteristically swore as she wrestled for control over the brute's mind she wouldn't have.

Nemesis, on the other hand, wanted the small girl on his back to stop punching his cheeks. "Grrrrrr!" He snarled in warning.

Only one member of the Elite kicked up this much trouble naturally, and it was the most brainless one. Under Green Heart's instruction, Saya had to babysit him, her reasoning being that since they were both held captive by Dr. West, Nemesis had more time to, and would therefore be more compliant with her than any of the others. That was what she told Cole Phelps before flying into an outburst about how Nemesis made her want to tear every single hair from her head.

He was more co-operative with her? Well, if that was the case, then Nemesis working with anyone else probably would've killed off half of the Elite at this point, because he didn't like taking orders.

"How do you expect to live being such a stubborn bastard?!" She hissed, grunting and wheezing throughout her fruitless struggle to get some control over him, though he continued grunting.

He would not hurt her though. However bad her outbursts and threats got, he didn't resort to violence. Saya usually didn't consider it, because it seemed so strange for a creature as simple as Nemesis to be capable of complex feelings and thoughts.

But she had other issues to think about. They were going to tackle some dude named the Devil, who did look like a demon, but he looked a little too ridiculous to be the epitome of evil in Saya's books. Regardless, when Green Heart briefed the Elite that were tasked with taking him out, it became obvious Saya was going to have to use the full extent of her power, and that meant...yeah...her real form.

If anyone saw that, they were going to know straight away who was responsible for the murder of four teens.

* * *

There were only a few of the Elite getting ready to storm Leanbox, minus Marius' many legionaries of course.

Everyone involved was making their own preparations. Marcus and Conker were testing out every available weapon in their respective arsenals. Kameo was practising her nature power techniques, Banjo and Kazooie worked on their teamwork, though Banjo would stop a little too often for breaks as far as Kazooie was concerned. Marius was doing something at a desk, God knows. It looked awfully complicated, and no one wanted to disturb him.

But the Gunstringer was different. He still practised his sharpshooting, impecable as always, but it was one of the villains who was putting him off. Cortana told him that she was there shortly after the meeting yesterday, and he couldn't stop thinking about it.

The Lady of the Dead. The Gunstringer was a tough son of a gun, he probably came out of the womb scowling, but everytime he heard her name, his heart softened a little. Maybe from affection, maybe from hurt, but from whatever, it did.

Not 'Lady of the Dead' though. No. Her real name.

Mictecacihuatl.

It would've probably been a candidate for 'Most likely thing for your cat to type when they walk across the keyboard' before it was considered a sweet name to give to a lady, but that was her name.

He remembered it well. Very well. Back from when he was alive. When he had skin, hair, and was a little less grouchy than before. When he was part of a posse. It seemed like only yesterday...

* * *

The mustached marionette stood there in the graveyard, staring down at the undead woman. Her grin was wide and wicked, her hair standing up tall like a cactus, nothing but skin and bones. Standing amongst skulls of varying colors, one even in her hands, the woman found herself amused at the sight of the mortal man, who did not show any fear.

"So, yer the gal that the sheriff called upon? To be part of his posse? Y'all don't look too much like the law enforcin' type, to be completely honest." It just had to be him to go down to the graveyard and pick up the recruit. It was such an odd choice, but perhaps striking fear into criminals would do the posse a heap of help. "You're the one they call the Lady of the Dead?"

She slinked around him like she was floating, her feet barely touching the ground as the lady kept smiling. "Mictecacihuatl, and I am the true Lady of the Dead, not a mere fake with a title. Just because I'm a menacing deity, does not mean I am not capable of watching crime." She snickered, circling around the marionette. "For instance, I punish those who commit crimes against death. Or those who commit crimes during festivities. Whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?" She questioned, leaning over the cowboy.

"The Gunstringer," he answered, "nothing more or less. Don't think you can push me around with your status either, because I'm gonna make this clear now." Flicking a cigarette away, he crushed it under his boot, stomping the heat right out of it. "I ain't scared of any Aztec deities, even if you threaten me with death yourself. Use that stuff on the criminals, ma'am."

… How cute.

This man was cold, and thinks he's intimidating. Thinks he isn't scared.

Mictecacihuatl would have to see about that. This one was amusing, she would have to keep an eye out for him.

"Why, I say boy, you gotta speak up! You gotta do more than just slap those law-breakin' boys around with intimidation, you gotta tell 'em how badly they screwed up, you gotta look 'em in the eye. Emphasis on eye, 'cause you got one! That's a joke son, you get it?"

"Ahh, shaddup!" The Gunstringer smacked the fat Oil Baron across his face, and walked away, stunning the Oil Baron into silence for a total of five seconds.

How cute.

He got angry at the Oil Baron so frequently, they clashed, literally like oil and water. Mictecacihuatl and the Brothel Madam giggled as they watched the two men constantly argue with each other. The Gunstringer was calm, but obviously a hothead, as he got tired of the Oil Baron running his mouth like a chatty, morning rooster.

Just when it couldn't get more entertaining for Mictecacihuatl, she heard the inn's door creak open. Everyone had their attention averted to the one standing there. Incredibly short, coming from the east it seemed with how he was dressed, but most notably was his insanely long beard. The Wavy Tube Man was first to light up, as he immediately recognized who the new face was.

"Oh boy, oh boy, the new posse member is here!" Stretching a tube-shaped arm out, he shook the man's hand. "Why, I just hopin' he'd show up today like the sheriff said, and he did. Welcome partner!" The new recruit was silent, taking a long look at all who were present, and he was immediately shaken by Mictecacihuatl's ghastly appearance.

"Another one?" The Gunstringer grunted. "I thought the sheriff said there'd be no more, did we really need this samurai-lookin' guy on our side?" He glanced at the Beard Master, then shook his head. On the plus side, he seemed like the quiet type, unlike the Oil Baron. Maybe he would be alright.

This amused the Lady of the Dead further. Their little posse consisted of strangers with various methods on how to get their criminals brought to justice.

One had the literal long arm of the law.

One used methods of money, bribery, and their pure strength.

One seduced criminals with her appearance, only to arrest them.

One relied on quick reflexes and the ability to control his beard.

One who could frighten a person into terrified submission.

And just a normal, dead-eye shooter that was quick with his hands.

How long would this last?

She had gotten along with the Gunstringer better than expected. He didn't boil well with his allies, but somehow, managed to socialize with the Lady of the Dead with all people, like she was any other person. As if the whole Aztec deity thing didn't matter, just as he said when they met. It was peculiar, and even more-so was the fact that the Gunstringer was actually curious about her.

"What's it like?" He asked as the two of them sat near the fire. "Bein' some kinda deity of death? Don't it get boring on days without festivities? Or do you entertain yourself with the tormented souls of the dead?" Mictecacihuatl chuckled to herself, this man was too naive for his good, truly.

"You want me to be completely honest with you? It's a lonely life. I have yet to find someone to sit with. I've always wanted, well, a king by my side. I don't imagine someone with my appearance could find a man at this point though," she laughed even more, which sounded almost like a wicked cackle. "They would drop dead in terror before I could even say a word, I'm certain!"

The Gunstringer rolled his eyes, unimpressed, surprising Mictecacihuatl. "That'd be pathetic if someone were to turn away from a lady just because of their appearance, but whatever." Fanning the flames with his hat, he kept them going strong for a little while longer. "Your appearance and frightenin' antics are true to yourself an' all. Anything else would be fake, liars and fakers are more disgustin' to me than the dead. Like that Brothel Madam, she got a good body, but her fake personality is the reason why I don't go tailin' after her like that Oil Baron wants to." Lifting his head at Mictecacihuatl, who was still rather stunned at his remarks.

"How come you look like that anyway?"

"Like what?" Mictecacihuatl wondered, snapping out of it.

"All skin and bones. What happened exactly to make you look like that?"

"I'm a deity who swallows the stars," Mictecacihuatl answered, but the Gunstringer wasn't entirely convinced, like he knew there was some story behind it all. "You really care about this sort of thing? Fine. The moment I was born, free of my mother's womb, I was sacrificed. After all, it is common tradition to please gods and bring good things. They just did not intend on a baby girl descending to the status of a death god. Why I'm pretty certain that I'm literally heartless for a reason." She smirked, hoping to mortify the Gunstringer with such a horrific tale.

But that didn't happen. His face was cold as always, the only expression that could be seen in his one eye, was… one of pity?

"You have my sympathies, Mictecacihuatl." He finally said, tilting his hat downwards. "I apologize for having to make you remember such a thing. Tradition or not, that sort of thing is just plain cruel. Ya just don't treat human life like that, and I know that's talk comin' from me."

… What?

How cute.

He was taking pity on her. The Gunstringer really was clueless perhaps, or maybe common empathy was lost on Mictecacihuatl. Either way, this was the first time she had gotten a response like this, and it despite how amusing it was, his attitude towards everything was one that kept Mictecacihuatl unnerved, just because of how unexpected his reactions always were.

But for some reason, she had a feeling. One that she knew was dangerous, and if pushed, would only lead to problems in the future.

The Brothel Madam had become green with envy, which was pretty hilarious to Mictecacihuatl. She had been trying to put the moves on the Gunstringer, only for him to ignore her, unless she openly flaunted her assets around him. Otherwise, he preferred the company of Mictecacihuatl always, because he figured she needed it. These acts of pity and sympathy made the Brothel Madam jealous.

She thought that Mictecacihuatl and the Gunstringer were dating. He immediately denied these claims, and had such a look of embarrassment.

How cute.

Mictecacihuatl had never seen anything like it, his cold demeanor shattered quickly, just from trying to defend himself. It showed the kind of person he really was, when he wasn't on the job, or trying to seem fearless.

Strangely enough, Mictecacihuatl wanted to test the waters for herself, for no other reason but to see the Gunstringer's insecurities fall through. Surprising him with an embrace would do the trick, so long as she didn't end up killing the cowboy in the process. And it went exactly as expected.

"Mictecacihuatl, please let me go," he finally said, unable to break from it, no matter how much he struggled.

"Why?" She questioned. "Are you afraid?"

"No, just—" He finally freed himself, brushing himself off, looking around. "If you were trying to scare me, that didn't do a thing. Just made me uncomfortable, geez. Don't do that again, alright?"

It definitely wasn't a look of fear when Mictecacihuatl got a good look at his face. Indeed, he seemed uncomfortable instead, if not, very nervous, like he wasn't used to being close with anyone. The Gunstringer looked back at her one last time, wondering if he had disappointed her, then jolted his gaze in another direction. "Sorry," he murmured, before retreating towards a tent.

Again, how cute.

He was shy it seemed. It was so weak, and once again, it gave a feeling of danger.

Well, hopefully not dangerous enough to ruin their job. After all, there were a group of notorious robbers on the loose, they couldn't let emotions get the best of them.

… Although, part of Mictecacihuatl hoped that the Brothel Madam and the Oil Baron would just get it over with already. They actually make a good match, maybe after everyone retired.

The following day, the battle against the outlaws was rougher than anticipated. They were prepared for the sheriff's posse, especially Mictecacihuatl. Turns out one of the men involved was a former priest, and made himself known by splashing holy water on Mictecacihuatl, making her screech with pain.

Dead or alive, didn't matter, the Gunstringer took his shot at the one responsible, then pulled Mictecacihuatl to safety behind a barrel. "Dammit," he grunted, "Mictecacihuatl, I'm right here, don't worry, just sit tight, don't go dyin' on me!"

What an ironic thing to say to a Lady of the Dead, but it didn't matter. The Gunstringer took careful aim at the rest of the robbers, knowing that his posse would be taking care of the rest who tried to escape the national bank.

He had six shots on each gun, and the Gunstringer knew damn well to make the best use of them.

One, two, three, four, five, six men down. With just precise aim and a quick trigger finger, they all went down. "Shoot!" A robber shouted to another. "That guy over there just took down a whole bunch of us, let's get out of here!"

The moment they ran out though, the two robbers were met with the long arms of the Wavy Tube Man, crushing him. The rest still inside of the bank, hiding, were promptly sabotaged by the Beard Master, making good use of his ninja skills and stealth.

"Mictecacihuatl! Say something, c'mon!" The Gunstringer yelled, tempted to slap her, but he knew a little better than to do that to a Lady of the Dead. She came around, the effects of the holy water starting to go away, but she still felt a little sick from it. The taste of Christian water was disgusting to an Aztec deity such as herself, making her feel almost violently ill.

She could barely speak, but then finally managed to say a word. "Why?" She asked. "Why did you go out of your way to do that just now?"

"Dammit, you know well why I did it. Do you think I'm gonna leave you in the dust to crumble!? We're partners here!" He sounded far more emotional than he usually did, shaken almost. "I wasn't going to lose anyone today in a fight for the law as important as this one, I wouldn't forgive myself if that happened!"

Confused, she asked again. "It's only me, honestly—"

"It's too much to see you in pain like that!"

She was lost. How could one mortal care so much about her well-being? About her as a person? Was this man a fool? He didn't fear her, but the idea of her being vulnerable like this was something that made him panic?

"I," she hesitated, "I'm sorry, I'm afraid even as a Lady of the Dead, I do not know how to handle this."

"Handle nothin'," the Gunstringer tried to laugh it off, despite how emotional he had gotten just now. "Just, be the way ya always are, because it lets me know that you're okay, and I don't need to worry about a thing."

Mictecacihuatl paused for nearly a minute, before she slowly went back to her usual, cackling self, enough to reassure the Gunstringer.

How cute.

He was worried about her, in a time that she was vulnerable and in pain. But it had to stop, because the Gunstringer had just seen a side of Mictecacihuatl that he should have never seen. And Mictecacihuatl, in turn, saw a side of him that she didn't think existed at all.

It's too dangerous for him to keep going on like this.

Weeks later, the sheriff died, a new one was appointed, but most were under the impression that the Oil Baron was pulling a few strings, considering this new man's position. One would think the posse would collapse there, but the Oil Baron and the new sheriff; Bert, were trying to keep things together.

Mictecacihuatl knew very well why it was. After all, she was the one tasked with doing a little voodoo on the old man. The Oil Baron figured it was time for him to retire, they got bored of doing everything for a geezer that was out of touch and going blind.

The Gunstringer knew something was up, and even asked Mictecacihuatl about the Oil Baron acting a little too happy about this, but even she acted like nothing was wrong. He believed her, since the Gunstringer was under the impression that Mictecacihuatl would never lie to him.

How cute.

He's a complete fool, an imbecile. Mictecacihuatl gained his trust over the past few months, even if she showed a weak part of herself in the process. What an adorable man, one she could tell anything. He hated liars, sure, but it was only one little fib, that didn't make the Lady of the Dead a liar though.

But the truth was, relations with a mortal man wouldn't deliver, and Mictecacihuatl knew it. He was admittedly, rather handsome compared to everyone else in the posse, Mictecacihuatl might have been forming a crush on him too, and she was certain it was requited, with him becoming increasingly friendlier towards her, but cold to everyone else. But Mictecacihuatl knew that wasn't what she needed.

This would not work.

She needed to be queen of the underworld, she needed to redeem herself after the holy water incident. Mictecacihuatl could not appear weak, nor did she want to be rescued by a mortal cowboy.

Eventually, the Gunstringer would find out what happened to the old sheriff, he would tail the Oil Baron, the posse would surely fall apart, and he would despise Mictecacihuatl for lying, and he'd never want to speak with her again.

So, what about stabbing him in the back? It could silence him, and stop all of the problems of weakness she was having. Mictecacihuatl needed another god, or a devil, in her afterlife. A man would not do, danger outweighed cute in the end.

Mictecacihuatl really was heartless as she said, the moment she beckoned the Wavy Tube Man over. "Do you mind rounding up the others? Not the Gunstringer though."

She would make this a money matter for the group, as well as a cover up for the Oil Baron's wishes. It would be so much easier for the posse if someone was cut off from being paid. Not that the new sheriff would care anyway either. Bert was still young, and painfully stupid.

And it had been years since that time, where she suggested killing him. The fact they all agreed to it so easily really was odd, considering they were a posse of law-keepers. Mictecacihuatl got exactly what she wanted, El Diablo rose from Hell, on the hunt for someone to fill the throne next to him in the underworld.

At first, he nearly considered the Brothel Madam, but was swayed far more by how wicked Mictecacihuatl was, betraying the only person she cared for, cursing an elderly sheriff for the Oil Baron, and not to mention her fearful reputation among many. She was perfect for him, and Mictecacihuatl gladly accepted his hand, knowing that she had made the right choice.

Everyone else, what idiots.

The Oil Baron gave up pursuing the Brothel Madam and just took over the whole state with his company, Big Oil. Sheriff Bert was merely a pawn for him now, which is what he had planned all along.

Nothing about the Brothel Madam had changed significantly, other than putting on much more make-up to cover her age.

The Beard Master had gotten out of shape, which was hilarious to Mictecacihuatl. He had been out of work for so long, and only focused on meditating, so he could merge his subconscious with a rainbow.

The Wavy Tube Man was the only one who had a moderately happy ending it seemed, as he ended up marrying a young, tube lady similar to himself, and they had a wavy tube child. Perhaps he wasn't so stupid.

Well, it all seemed fine, until the Gunstringer came out of his grave, and began tailing every member of the posse, killing them off one by one. He was more ferocious than before, and even more of a hothead than he was in life. Mictecacihuatl was amused, but also angered, for she did not take kindly to those who decided to cheat death.

She was completely out of her league, no matter how hard she tried to torment the Gunstringer. He pulled through, and ended her, sending Mictecacihuatl straight back to Hell, giving her a lesson she would never forget. Now, she was filled with rage much like he was, bent on getting back at him—

* * *

"Hey! Puppet boy, you ok?" Marcus Fenix called out. "You were spacing out over there." The Gunstringer realized what he had been doing.

"It's nothin'. Just remembered something that happened once, that's all." Marcus shrugged and returned to his own testing, leaving the Gunstringer once again to his own thoughts.

It was true. Much like he had been before, and somewhat remained, Mictecacihuatl was now driven by revenge, a very poweful desire as the Gunstringer himself knew...

Agh! Why was he so focused on it now?! That was neither here nor there. Best get back to practice.

Master Chief walked into the room, specifically to talk with Marius Titus. Unlike the rest of the team, who were up and either exercising or honing their conbat skills, Marius sat at a large desk with maps and papers thrown about everywhere. But despite the impressive workload, Chief was ordered by Cortana tell Marius the basic truth, and it surely would've been better now than 5 minutes before the fight.

"I hate to put a downer on your plans, but your pilums and sternums won't hold up so well against guns and tanks." Chief warned him. "I'm well aware my tactics may seem barbaric and outdated, that is why I study so hard. I cannot possibly hope to win without planning for the more advanced opposition."

Chief sighed. "That's not what I mean. You're probably one of the smartest commanders in military history. But even if you took George Patton and gave him your equipment, he couldn't beat these guys with their equipment."

Marius stopped what he was doing. "You seen very fixated on equipment. But what do you know of Leanbox?"

"Well, for a start, they have guns." Chief argued. "And tanks. Artillery too."

Marius searched through his notes for a second, his eyes darting across the desk which he stood at until he reached what he wanted to. "As you can see I've taken careful consideration for their more devastating weaponry. I understand your concern, but you need not worry. I have faced much worse odds."

Chief walked out of the room, dumbfounded by what he just heard. "Well?" It was Cortana. "Did you talk to him like I asked you too?"

"Yeah, but that's the part that worries me. He said he 'faced much worse odds'."

To add to Chief's worry, Cortana didn't seem worried either. She seemed...almost pleased. "Good. That's the response I was hoping for."

"Wait, what?" Chief couldn't believe the words coming out of Cortana's mouth. "Just see...he might be outdated, but he is never outmatched."

Chief wasn't too happy about being left in the dark yet again, but past experience had shown him that he couldn't really expect to know about much of anything that went on. Just let it all happen.

* * *

On the other side of the conflict, Richtofen had plenty of time to think once again about the origins of the apocalypse, and their journey there. Particularly that night in Siberia...

Why could we not take the teleporter?" Takeo asked. "I've already told you, we needed it somewhere else. I was lucky to make it back alive."

The four had made it from south east Asia to Siberia with very little opposition, Richtofen knew why, but he didn't bother saying, until now. This was the only time where he was free to do so, as most of his time was taken up by killing the undead and trying to thwart the Shadowman.

Siberia was cold, but not as snowy as Richtofen had envisioned. It was depressing though, dark skies and dry brown wastelands dominating the view of the four, like their perception of reality was being made more depressing every second that passed.

It gave Richtofen time to think about the build up to everything that had happened since the Shadowman called them back. He knew why they were there, though none of the other three were informed.

What he meant of course was that they didn't know what had lead to the Shadowman rising once again to power, as it was clear he had.

"I was going to explain to you about my plan." Richtofen broke the ice.

"That's right, you were." Dempsey agreed, listening attentively. "What's the whole deal with this MPD thing?"

"After we defeated the Shadowman, we found the pyramid in Agartha thanks to 115 powered technology. Maxis used it to find the MPD, and became obsessed with it."

"Maxis? I thought he died." Dempsey remembered Richtofen's senile mentor.

"We made altrications to the structure of the device."

Tank felt himself reaching for his sidearm straight away, but he held his nerve. "What the hell did you do?" He demanded. "Maxis and I, with help from the keepers put restrictions on the MPD. You remember what it's function was, ja?"

"It controlled the darkness on earth. He who entered it controlled the undead." Takeo remembered. "That's it. We didn't want the Shadowman to re-enter the device and retake control of the undead, so we made access impossible to any Apothicon. Without a soul, no one can enter the MPD. As you have probably figured, Apothicons don't have souls."

"Still, here we are." Tank reminded him. "How the hell did we get here? And I've got more. First off, why the fuck didn't you destroy that thing?! Secondly, the Shadowman was still alive, and you knew about it but didn't tell any of us about it?!"

Dempsey took out his sidearm, the Boomhilda, and pointed it at Richtofen. Takeo went to reach for his sword, but Dempsey was paying very close attention. "Leave it Tak! You better have a good explanation for this Richtofen!"

"It was not my doing! Firstly, I could not destroy the MPD even if I wanted. It is necessary to the balance of the light and dark aether in the world! To remove it could upset the fabric of the universe itself!"

"Don't act like you care about that shit all of a sudden!" Tank shot back.

"I never stopped! I have planned all my actions around the safety of it!" Richtofen cleared his throat. "As time went on, Maxis became more and more senile. I sensed something was wrong, but I never had any evidence he had finally gone until it was too late. The Shadowman had figured out our plan. If he couldn't get in, the next best thing was a mindless puppet. Maxis was already highly unstable mentally, all the Shadowman had to do was push him over the edge. Once that happened...here we are."

Tank was silent for a moment. He did not drop the gun though, no. He only tightened his grip. "Why...didn't you tell us?!"

"I assumed he wouldn't come back! I didn't want to raise false alarm!" Richtofen defended himself.

"You didn't want to cause alarm?!" Tank practically screamed. "Jesus Christ Richtofen, this plan is one disaster after another! I'm sick of your shit!"

"Dempsey." Nikolai calmly ordered. "Lower your weapon. We have enough things trying to kill us already without you."

Even Takeo was surprised. "I was sure you would stand by Dempsey." He observed. "We all know you despise Richtofen more than both of us combined.

"I have...unfavourable opinions on Richtofen also." Nikolai looked back at Richtofen. "But whether we like it or not...regardless of the truth in his mannerisms, he is the one who knows what to do. You might say that Dr. Monty is more powerful, but he has already proven his apathy to our well being. Richtofen is the only voice that can lead us with real purpose, however thin our patience may run. We are, as you say, in the same boat." Nikolai, with that, began walking again in the same direction Richtofen had been leading them.

"We shall have time to settle our disputes later." Takeo informed Dempsey, using the side of his katana to pressure Dempsey's arm containing the small sidearm to lower. The marine eventually complied, moving along with Takeo, shooting Richtofen a dirty look as he passed.

"I'll play by your rules for now." He gritted his teeth. "But any, and I mean _any_ funny business, and I swear to God, if there's any fucking around, I'll-"

"I understand Dempsey. I know not what I can do to earn your trust completely, but I at least know you will trust me once everything is said and done." Richtofen assured him.

The other three had moved on a bit before Monty showed up again. "I saw everything." Richtofen looked at him. "We are still divided as a group. But...I wonder why Nikolai defended me like that?"

"It's because he's desperate. Desperate for something to believe in. You know his story, don't you?"

"I know." Richtofen nodded. It was true Nikolai was a proud communist, a huge supporter of the revolution back in his homeland. But he was a government operative, an agent of the Tsar in the eyes of many. So while he fought with all his heart for his homeland against the undead in the trenches of the Great War, all his beloved people back home heard about was that he was a filthy suck up to the rich, an enemy of the common man.

So after the revolution, Nikolai was kicked out of his own homeland. Government operatives went to his home and killed his wife, then framed Nikolai for it. He was banished. He needed hope, anything to prevent him from wasting his life away, and though he hated Richtofen for more reasons than one, he fought for his cause if only to have a purpose. Richtofen was glad he could at least provide that.

"Hey, Richtofen!" It was Dempsey again, though less angry this time. "Come on, sooner we get to this place the better!"

Monty disappeared, uttering "Good luck" as he left Richtofen to catch up to the rest of the group. Onwards, to their last stop on earth, the Ascension facility.

But that was then. This was now, and the right now was them trying to save a village from being completely devastated by a wave of undead.

Richtofen had just met up with his other three companions. "I trust you will come with me to the village."

"I suspect an attack from our old enemies. Of course I will offer my assistance." Nikolai confirmed.

"It would be cowardly not to go." Takeo added. "I will be there."

"I'm not gonna be the odd one out. You've got my help, Richtofen."

"Excellent. In that case, I have just one request." Richtofen suggested.

"I suggest we should don our old uniforms. Relive the legend of Primis."

* * *

Marisa was yet again sneaking into the Scarlet Devil Mansion's extraordinary library. It was something she had done so many times before, but this time was different. And it worried the young witch.

No books to gather this time. Not one. Instead, she was looking for the resident bookworm, Patchouli Knowledge. It wasn't hard to find her, Marisa spotted her in a comfy looking chair reading with a large stack of books beside her. Once she noticed Marisa however, something clicked in her brain as she sprung from her chair and ran towards Marisa.

"I've got you now thief!" Patchouli's eyes lit up. "Wait! I'm not here to take any books!" Marisa raised her hands in protest.

"Prove it!" Patchouli demanded, not at all convinced. "Well...first off, I came to you. If I wanted to steal anything I definitely wouldn't have done that." Patchouli considered it. It was a good point, but Marisa _was_ pretty crafty. "I'm not convinced. If it isn't for books, then what are you here for?"

Marisa began to look around. She knew what she had to do, but it didn't make it any less awkward. "It's about Reimu." Marisa muttered, feeling her face heat up already.

Patchouli's ears seemed to peak up at the mention of the shrine maiden's name. "Has something happened to her? Where is she?"

"She's fine Patchy, nothing happened to her." Marisa stopped the bookworm before she worked herself up into a complete frenzy. "Why the serious reaction though? Not like Reimu's that important to anyone here, right?"

"Well-carry on with what you were going to say." Patchouli brushed off her earlier remark.

"It's um...ah...I'm not sure how I can say this." Marisa wanted to bury her head in her apron, but she resisted the urge, just lowering her head enough so the rim of her hat covered her eyes, fiddling with her dress as she did so. "It's been like this for a while, but...recently it's been stronger. A lot stronger."

"What has?"

"Everytime I look at Reimu...whenever she's around...I get butterflies. I feel numb, and...I can't think of anyone else, I get all weird and can't think or speak normally. Look, I don't know what it is, and I figured since you were really smart you'd probably know something about it."

Patchouli tried to stop herself from grinning, but she couldn't. A mixture of knowing something that could embarass Marisa, and also that the thief had something stolen from her for once. Her heart.

"Marisa...did you...ever consider that you might be attracted to girls?" Marisa nodded. "I figured it out a while ago, why?" Patchouli was internally scratching her head as to how Marisa hadn't figured out on her own what she was feeling, but she made no jab at the witch for it.

"Well, it seems as though you might like Reimu. Far more than just a friend." Marisa's cheeks went bright red. "Well, do you?" Patchouli pressed, half pressing, half toying. "I-I-er...so-sort of...now th-that you ment-t-tion it..."" Marisa quietly muttered, wanting her hat to eat through the ground and take her away. "Sorry?" Patchouli pressed on. Marisa sighed. Yes, I love Reimu! What more do you want?!"

Patchouli smiled again, a smug grin partially some schadenfreude, and partially because of something Marisa clearly didn't know.

"Marisa...don't you know?"

Patchouli's serious tone worried Marisa.

"Don't I know what?"

 ** _Author's Note_**

I wanted to get some character backstory and development in first before I went straight to the fighting, hoping to slow it down a bit. Next Chapter is going to be Team Fortress vs Overwatch. Not usual for me to say what chapter I'm gonna put out next, but I'm pretty confident of this one. It's gonna be more action oriented, I can safely say that.

Also, the Gunstringer backstory was written by N.K., which is really appreciated. I didn't really know all that much about Gunstringer, so it's nice and I suppose better overall if the story was written by someone who knew what they were talking about as opposed to me.

So thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. Until Next Time!


	18. Battle for Liberty City

"Now remember ladies, we're here for war! I don't wanna see any lollygagging, or else I'll shoot ya myself!" Soldier boomed as Team Fortress arrived in Liberty City. It was bustling with life, as Green Heart had told them it would be, with very few people even stopping to look at the odd team which had just entered the city.

Though it was pretty hard to get a good look at them, as they were using their van, which was going rather fast. So fast that it easily shattered the speed limit, causing three dozen patrol cars to crash in pursuit, as well as two helicopters, before the LCPD decided to get away. It also accumulated a lot of debris on the windshield. A few stop signs which obviously weren't helpful, several newspaper articles about crime in Liberty City, pamphlets, a few pidgeons, and a street clown who fell under the van when the third patrol car to give chase rammed the back. By this point, most people decided they would rather not be around when nine maniacs and their van were having a cruise through town, and so they evacuated. Unfortunately for Team Fortress, their van ran out of gas shortly afterwards, leaving them to get out and explore on foot.

"Say, you think we went a little too fast there?" Scout asked as he stepped out. "That was the plan." Spy answered. "We do not want innocent deaths on our record."

Scout rolled his eyes. "So you're the big guy now huh?"

"I am not interested in pointless debate. We have more pressing issues." Spy continued. "We have yet to see our enemy. This means they must not be here."

"What if there ain't an enemy here?" Scout asked. "Might have got an easy job for once." Spy shook his head. "Green Heart told us that this was an important location. If such information is true, which I believe it is, then they will send enforcements to secure this city also."

"They could be waiting for us." Sniper pointed out. "I might have accepted that a while ago. But we have been all around the city more than once, so if they wanted to take their shot, they had plenty of opportunity." Sniper conceded. That was a pretty solid arguement.

"Well, considerin' they ain't here yet, I suggest we best make some preparations." Engineer suggested. Engineer shook his head. "Not exactly. I'm gonna put a dispenser and a teleporter up on that there building." He explained, pointing to a tall office block at the end of the street.

Sniper went with him, getting a good view of the city from the top, while Engineer set up a teleporter link from the top of the building where they were to just outside the front door, and a dispenser, getting some iron while Sniper took in the view. "Looks good to me from here." Sniper announced. "Y'want me to wait up here?" Engineer shook his head. "We don't know who we're up against, or where they're gonna be coming from yet. Best come with us first." With that, the two teleported down to the streets, greeted by the rest of the team.

"See? Easy. Figured it'd be handy to have when we need to refuel. Never know when we might need to retreat."

Medic raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed. "I see you have done some planning." He remarked. "And, if I were to say...you might have a whole plan in your head, ja?"

Heavy, who had remained silent until that point, pointed up at the sky. "Is this perhaps our enemy?" The Russian mercenary asked.

The other members looked up, seeing a large white aircraft flying overhead, getting ready to land in a nearby park.

It was actually pretty close to the building where the Team had set up camp, down a long street, then a sharp left, you came out to a square in the middle of the city with the park in the center. A pretty big park, it should be noted, but that didn't mean that nothing was damaged, as several trees were crushed as the aircraft landed.

The members of Team Fortress looked at one another, knowing they had to investigate. Walking to the end of the street, waiting at the turn. They weren't entirely sure if the crew were friendly or going to attack them, so they wanted to be close to cover. Still, they had lined up to be spaced out evenly across the street, possibly to make themselves look more intimidating.

On board the aircraft, Soldier 76 desperately tried to rally Overwatch for the fight ahead.

"Remember guys, this isn't about us, it's something greater!" Soldier 76 reminded them.

"Same thing's on all our minds, we need to prove we still got it!" McCree loaded his revolvers.

"Try not to get reckless. We must help one another." Mercy reminded them all. Everyone was wrapped up in their own thoughts. It wasn't encouraging, but what McCree said was right. Redemption was their number one priority. D.Va was already in her mech, Tracer had her Pulse Pistols ready, everyone seemed very on edge and irritable, waiting for the chance to make someone, anyone, pay for what happened.

Stepping out, 76 noticed that the city was surprisingly empty. Like, no one at all was here. "Strange." He remarked. "Looks like someone beat us here." McCree noted, noticing skid marks on the road. "That's your proof?" D.Va raised an eyebrow. "Well, what else could it mean? Not like they'd be havin' street races in the middle of the day."

The team made their way to the road, looking to see where the marks went. "They must be gone by now. I cannot see or hear a vehicle that could have made these tracks." Hanzo suggested.

No response.

"Well?" He asked, puzzled as to why they didn't respond. "Might wanna hold that thought Hanzo." McCree remarked. Hanzo turned around, and immediately, in the blink of an eye, had an arrow ready in his Storm Bow.

The nine members of both teams stared eachother down, with the whole setup making it obvious that conflict was unavoidable. Both teams had their guns trained on one another. Tracer focused on Scout, Soldier 76 on Spy, D.Va on Heavy, Torbjörn on Engineer, just to name a few. Even Reinhardt has his Rocket Hammer in one arm like he was going to just fling it at the opposing team.

"This is a war zone, you know that, right?" Soldier 76 called out. "But of course. That is why we are here." Spy replied.

Jack Morrison stopped. They certainly didn't look like soldiers in the traditional sense...but they all wore some form of clothing that was a nice shade of light red. Even the doctor on the team, who wore a white overcoat, wore red gloves.

Other than that, their unprofessional appearance could only mean one thing...

"Who exactly is it you're working for?" Soldier 76 asked, feeling his grip tighten on his Pulse Rifle.

Spy saw the movements made by Soldier 76, as did the rest of Team Fortress. They too readied their weapons, prepared to retalliate, as the rest of Overwatch did the same.

After a minute of tense silence, Spy broke the ice. "We work for Green Heart. Now, you tell us who you work for."

"Cortana."

That was like the starting whistle.

Immediately, Team Fortress ran for cover, with Engineer, Spy and Pyro racing around the corner of the street they came from, while the other six had to take cover in an alleyway on the other side of the street. Overwatch had wasted no time in firing relentlessly at the mercenaries, with all of them lucky not to have been hit, save for Heavy, who had been hit by more than a few bullets.

Spy fired a shot around the corner, quickly ducking back in to avoid the hail of bullets in retalliation. Pyro looked rather disappointed, knowing he wasn't going to be able to set any of his targets on fire. "We mustn't kill them." Spy informed the two. "They might hold valuable information. We need them alive."

"I know. But it's also important to remember we gotta win." Engineer reminded them. "And how do you propose we tackle them?" Spy asked, as a serious question, without a hint of sarcasm. Engineer looked over to the other mercenaries who were taking cover, grabbing their attention and signalling for them to get over as soon as they could. Then he spoke to Spy.

"Now listen here, I have a plan, if you just get 'em all together, and we'll..."

Normally Torbjörn was only allowed to build one turret at a time on missions, as the risk of an accidental injury to a teammate was far too high. But with all the energy flowing around, and thanks largely to cover provided by his teammates nonstop fire, he was able to build a solid line of turrets that would've surely decimated anyone that stepped out of cover.

"Ow..." Heavy groaned as he looked at his wounds.

"Any ideas, doc?" Scout asked, not impressed with their position. He looked at Heavy. "As a matter of fact...yes."

It took a second for the others to catch on, but once they did, they were fully on board.

"They're not coming out of cover!" Tracer was already annoyed, tired of firing at the corner of a wall. She decided she needed a little more oomph, and so, she took out her Pulse Bomb. One blast of that, and no more anything.

"Just keep firing, and we'll blow up their-Wait!" McCree protested.

Tracer tossed the Pulse Bomb, watching it stick to the street near the alley. Soldier 76 went wide eyed seeing it, turning to Tracer immediately. "What the hell are you doing?! We need them alive!"

But it was too late for that, as the team took cover to make sure no debris flew at them. After the deafening explosion, Torbjörn was the first out, making sure none of his turrets were damaged. But to his surprise, they were all firing at the smoke cloud. "Hey Tracer! Looks like you missed with your bomb!" Even weirder, the smoke cloud returned fire, clearing to reveal Medic firing a red beam at Heavy, who himself was glowing red as he fired, but seemed impervious to any damage dealt to him. "Now!" Medic signalled to the other members of the team as they ran across the street to meet up with Spy, Engineer and Pyro.

The übercharged Heavy laughed as the lines of attack Torbjörn built up were quickly decimated. "What?!" He exclaimed, clearly seeing bullets hit the burly man, yet bounce off like nothing. Even worse, the bullets being fired didn't bounce off him. He was struck in the shoulder by one bullet before falling to the ground. "Torbjörn!" Mercy cried out, seeing her injured ally lying in the middle of the street. Team Fortress had already made it across, safe and sound by the looks of things.

"Cover me, I will heal him!" Mercy announced, before any of her teammates could register what was going on.

D. Va was first, seeing something that spelled disaster for both Mercy and Torbjörn. As the Swiss medic made it to Torbjörn, he was already looking over and pointing. "Move!" He yelled. But it was far too late for that. The rocket exploded about a foot in front of the two, sending them, along with plenty of debris, flying back.

"NO!" Tracer cried out, seeing her teammates badly injured. Her despair quickly turned to anger, as she gave chase to Team Fortress.

"Guys, we cannot kill them. We need them alive. So here's what we do, Sniper, on the roof, the rest of us stay here and use our numbers to our advantage. Got it?"

He didn't get a response as Tracer's battle cry was heard, causing Team Fortress to run for cover, with Sniper going for the roof. Spy didn't though, knowing he could cause damage to one valuable member if he waited. Activating his invisibility cloak, he waited.

The remaining members of Overwatch raced out onto the street without much thought, gunning everything down from the road upwards.

D.Va in particular was making it almost impossible for any Team Fortress member to get out of cover for any longer than a second.

"Hana's got this part covered!" McCree shouted to his team. "We should split up, and try to take them by surprise!" Without waiting for any response he took off down an alley. "McCree, wait!" Reinhardt raced after him. "Guys, we need to stick together!" Soldier 76 gave chase as well, as the remaining members continued firing.

Hanzo looked to the rooftops, seeing Sniper, the cause of problems for Overwatch so far. Without even announcing his intentions, he climbed up the nearest wall and began racing across the rooftops, determined to get an edge in the battle.

Engineer was paying close attention though. "Shit!" He swore. Then he turned to Medic and Pyro. "You guys wait here! When the mech is destroyed, you go around that street there, hold up their surprise attacm until I can reach ya, got it? Tell Soldier to go with ya so you're not outnumbered!"

So the plans were set, but until D.Va was no longer a threat, no one was going anywhere.

Soldier fired a rocket at D.Va, with her mech's Defence Matrix coming to her rescue again, shooting down the missile mid-flight.

But then, it happened. First, the cannons stopped firing. "What?!" D.Va was caught completely off guard. "A critical error has occured. Shutting down all systems immediately."

"Nonononono, this isn't supposed to happen!" D.Va grunted in frustration, pressing the eject button on the mech. Nothing happened.

"Wait, what?!" Panic began to set in. "Eject!" She ordered, pressing the button over and over again. "All system functions are offline." The mech responded, slowly collapsing. D.Va began to scramble to get out of the mech before it tipped, scrambling through the front and jumping down off the front. Though her foot was caught, causing her to slap off the ground as opposed to land gracefully as she had intended, making her lose her sidearm a few feet in front of her. To make matters worse, her weight had determined the direction the mech was going to fall in.

Everyone heard her scream when it crushed her legs. Tracer looked over in horror as tears began to stream down the young Korean's face, but making any attempt to get to her was impossible, as Heavy took full advantage of the momentary ceasefire to open fire with his minigun, narrowly missing Winston as Scout moved in to tackle Tracer.

Engineer was already on his way to the teleporter, while Medic signalled for Soldier to follow him and Pyro.

Hanzo lunged at Sniper, catching the Aussie completely unaware and swinging at him with his bow. "So, you wanna play, eh?!" Sniper took out his trusty large knife, Kukri, and took a stab at him. Hanzo stepped back and fired an arrow, with Sniper ducking and taking out his SMG, firing while Hanzo rolled to avoid the shots, Sniper's inexperience with other weapons showing. Before long, his gun was making a dreaded clicking noise, and Hanzo capitalized, firing an arrow into Sniper's left leg. He grunted in pain, going down on one knee as Hanzo walked over to incapacitate him, bow drawn and pointed at his head. "You are sloppy. It is no wonder you resort to the cowardice of-" Then his face when stiff as a 'clank!' sound came from behind him. Hanzo fell to the ground, as Engineer brandished his wrench.

"Sure fancies himself, doesn't he?" Engineer helped Sniper up. "Likes to run his mouth anyway." He grunted, cursing in pain as he pulled the arrow out of his leg. "Sure you're gonna be okay with that?" Engineer asked, genuinely concerned for Sniper. "Can't be too bad. I've survived worse." Engineer would've argued, but he wanted to be back with the other three to stop the surprise attack, so he rushed off to the teleporter without arguing.

While Overwatch might have been surprised at what happened, it came as no shock to one man, who had planted the Electro-Sapper that shut down D.Va's mech...

Mercy was just coming around after the bomb blast had knocked out both her and Torbjörn. It was times like this that made her thankful for her quick healing factor. Her Caduceus Staff and Blaster were out of her reach, but thankfully in sight.

What was strange though, was that Torbjörn was already up and standing over her, a relieved expression on his face. In fact, he was the one holding her weapons. "You're awake already?" He seemed surprised. "Yes, I have my healing factor, same as always." Maybe he just forgot? "I should be the one surprised. I thought you would have been knocked out for a while after a blow like that."

She then picked herself up. "Thank you for holding onto my weapons. May I have them back now?"

That was when she was clubbed across the head with her own staff.

"Not a chance. Now, you'll do as I say if you value the life of your friend." Torbjörn instructed, ice cold as he revealed himself to be Spy, now having incapacitated both D.Va and Torbjörn, all without breaking a sweat, putting away the Caduceus Blaster and taking out his own revolver, pointing it at the real Torbjörn, who was sprawled out unconscious nearby.

Back at the street, Scout was being frustrated by his speedy opponent.

"Damn it, I can't get a hit in if ya keep zippin' around like that!" Scout grumbled as he fired at another building while Tracer danced around him using Blink, not having much success with hitting Scout, but content enough to frustrate him, eventually going in for a hit to the skull with one of her Pulse Pistols. Scout fell to the ground as Tracer stood over him, aiming for his skull, but not firing. "Now, I've got some rope here. Get on your stomach and let me-" "Woah, woah, tuts, I ain't into that kind of-" But before his protests could be complete, Tracer cried out in pain, accompanied by a loud gunshot. A splash of red from her right ankle caused her to fall onto one knee, giving Scout the perfect opportunity to get up and use his bat to whack her across the head, knocking her out cold in one swing.

He looked to the rooftop and saw Sniper giving him the thumbs up. Scout dismissed it. "Pssh, I totally had it! Nice of you to help though!" Sniper didn't complain. Wasn't like expected a grand thank you or anything.

Winston saw his situation going from bad to worse, needing to reload his Tesla Cannon, but being under constant fire from Heavy didn't help his situation. "That's IT!" He roared, feeling his primal instincts take over as he dropped his weapon and charged at Heavy, going through all the bullet like they were nothing. "Uh, guys!" Heavy called out, realizing his bullets weren't as effective as they should've been.

Scout picked himself up off the ground, knowing he was the only one who could stop the raging beast. He knew he could do it too, and it wasn't just his usual cocky nature.

Okay, so that might have been some of it, but it was going to be tough to stop a radioactively charged Bostonian.

Winston punched Heavy back, surprising the Russian as he flew several feet backwards. He wanted to finish Heavy off, but Scout was still there. And he saw opportunity. He took out a can of 'Bonk! Atomic Punch', and began chugging down the nuclear beverage as quickly as he could, knowing an enraged gorilla wouldn't be interested in waiting. He could feel the drink getting to work already, making his whole body shake uncontrollably as he dropped his Scattergun, taking out his baseball bat and taking a batting pose. Winston roared and chased after his new target, with Scout smiling all the time.

"Come on monkey! Show me your best!" He taunted as Winston lunged through the air, ready to rip Scout to shreds.

"Batter up!" He yelled as his perfectly timed swing connected with the gorilla, causing him to cry out in pain and fly several hundred feet into the air.

McCree provided cover for his two allies, using Deadeye to shoot Soldier through the chest. "Damn it! Medic!" He yelled, out of annoyance more than anything. "It's okay mein freunde! Everything is good." Medic laughed as he readied his übercharge, firing at Soldier and watching as he loaded his rocket launcher and fired like hell. McCree didn't even have time to get away before the firing knocked down enough debris to fall on the southern cowboy, trapping him underneath.

"Shit, McCree!" 76 called out. "Run!" McCree shouted back, as Pyro closed in on him.

Soldier 76 looked around as Reinhardt led him into the middle of the street where they had first entered the alley. "I want you to cover my-" "I will charge them all!" Reinhardt shouted over his leader as he swung his Rocket Hammer furiously in the direction of the debris.

"Actually guys, I'm not too sure about that." The two turned to see Scout, the effects of Bonk! having worn off, Scattergun pointed at them. "Three against one buddy. Not likely we're gonna-" He was cut off as Winston slammed into the hard concrete pavement a few feet away, still alive, as he was moving, but clearly in tremendous pain. Heavy was also picking himself up and brandishing his minigun. "Two on two!" Scout smugly grinned.

"Seven on two!" Medic called out as he, Pyro, Demoman, Engineer and Soldier emerged from the alleyway, beginning to encircle the two.

"Hey fellas!" Sniper called out from the rooftop where he was for the duration of the fight. "Y'forget about me or something? Eight on two!" His sniper rifle had a clear shot on Reinhardt's head, meaning any movement from him would be answered immediately.

"It is our full team against you." Spy announced, returning with an unconcious Torbjörn over his shoulder, and Mercy in front of him with her hands tied behind her back, Spy having his revolver trained on her, clearly to keep her walking to wherever he told her to. She looked utterly humiliated, like she might as well have been naked walking down the street towards

"I said hands behind your head boy!" Soldier barked, hitting Tracer in the back of the head with the butt of his launcher. No one bothered to correct him.

Right now, the members of Overwatch were well and truly beaten. The wounds, though not fatal, had completely drained the team. Any effort at a fightback was completely ruled out by that. The band of mercenaries had ordered-well, Soldier and Spy ordered, the rest just stood there looking intimidating with guns. The orders were to as per usual for a situation like this, for the conscious members of Overwatch to get down on their knees with their hands behind their heads, with all their weapons being confiscated.

"What are you going to do with us now?!" Mercy demanded, enraged and bitter at the overwhelming loss she had endured, the bullet wound in her leg still untreated. "Rape and murder us?! Keep us as trophies?! Or are you-"

"Woah woah woah woah, guys, I didn't sign up for this stu-" "We're not doing any of that!" Spy sighed, annoyed with Scout's stupidity. "Sacrébleu..." He sighed, shaking his head. "We will do nothing of the sort. You will be taken to a prison, where we will hopefully be able to purge your mind of the brainwashing it has been subject to by Cortana." He explained to the team.

"I think you're clearly mistaken." Winston tried to protest. "We were told that you guys were being manipulated by Green Heart!"

"Well, she would tell you that, now wouldn't she?" Soldier replied, butting in to tell one of his stories. "The enemy is _always_ telling lies about us, they wouldn't want to tell the truth anyway, cause if they did, no one would fight for 'em, now would they?! It's like that time...!"

Soldier went off into a rant mixed with half truths, flat out lies and strong political opinions, while Spy instructed Engineer to go and find cars to siphon gas from, while he kept a watchful eye on Overwatch.

Tracer, with her hands behind her head, stared at the ground in disgust. How could she lose so easily? And to a team with members as comically flawed as that too. It was gut wrenching to her. Those losses must have really taken their toll.

But the member most affected was Soldier 76. Jack Morrison was in utter disbelief. This did not happen. They were the best trained operatives on earth, they did not fail missions, especially back to back...

But as was already evident, they had. With that, only one question remained.

Why?

 ** _Author's Note_**

So the first fight ends with victory for Green Heart's side! I know I should probably do these all in the battle style I laid out, but I figured that this battle would be suited to a more open environment, and so I ditched the style just this once. It'll be back for almost all subsequent battles, which there will be more of, though I'll reveal those later.


	19. The Value of Spirit

Ezio still hadn't come down from the top of the Basillicom, preferring to take in his surroundings from above. The rest of the members could safely say he wasn't interested in socializing. Vert had paid him to be there, as she did Balrog. But while Balrog was loud and unafraid of offering his thoughts and opinions, Ezio was far more reserved and quiet. He approached his work very professionally, and displayed his excellent climbing skills in getting to the top of the Basillicom, where he presumably waited for something to go awry.

So far though, nothing had. Aside from Stranger and Brutus having to pull Stubbs away from one or two people he deemed to be suitable for lunch, things were relatively quiet. The military of Leanbox was present in the city, on its toes for a surprise attack, expecting gureilla tactics from its opponents at any minute. The Killer Instinct combatants had agreed to go off on scouting missions to look for Cortana's base or anything associated that could help them track her down, which still left a lot of people in the city, but as far as superhumans and other such things were concerned, the population was significantly lower.

Alan Wake had been gathering opinions from the rest of the Elite, hoping to write a book about the whole thing when all was said and done. Cooper Chance had a lot to say, as did Shu. They were both obviously pretty excited to be a part of the team and contribute. Vince gave some words, but he was kind of an ass about it, Stranger didn't have a lot to say either, Ezio was obviously pretty tough to reach, Brutus gave his thoughts too, though they didn't have much thought put into them, it was at least something, Stubbs clearly couldn't speak, so that left only one.

Hisako was very visually unappealing. From her grey skin to her inhuman posture, she had frightened off more than a few locals when she decided to go outside. Not like she cared. Preferred indoors anyway. She was training for a fight she clearly anticipated when Alan approached her.

"Um..." Alan was already getting cold feet as Hisako redirected her attention, staring at him intently through her stringy black hair. "I was wondering if I could maybe...your thoughts?" Hisako seemed a little apprehensive, but at the same time, it appeared as though she had trouble understanding him. It wasn't the case, but Alan tried again, with a slightly different approach. "Could you write down what you feel?" He then handed Hisako the pen and notepad. She made up her mind, and began writing. It took her a while to get comfortable writing though, she clearly hadn't had to write in a while. She started out using her right hand, but soon switched to her left and found she was able to write much better with that hand.

It wasn't like it mattered anyway, Hisako wrote it all using Kanji, so Alan would have to get a translator to understand what was being said. "Thanks." He said, taking the notepad. "But I don't understand-" "N-n-no time." Hisako stammered, returning to her training. "B-b-b-battle not wait." Alan knew what she meant. But still, at least they had the soldiers of Leanbox there in the event of a surprise attack, if there was one at all.

* * *

There was going be an attempt anyway. Regardless of how successful it would be, there would at least be an attempt at an attack. Cortana's Elite had gathered in a nearby forest, protected from view by some ridiculously tall grass. Whatever happened this forest, it was clear nothing had lived here in years. Even the grass looked like it was dying. They weren't going to attack from here, no, they had a plan to attack from a better position, all organized by Marius. This was simply a retreat option.

As Gunstringer, Marcus Fenix, Marius Titus, Kameo, Conker, Banjo Kazooie were all prepared for their assault on Leanbox, there wasn't a single one of them aside from Marius himself who could help but feel that the roughly two thousand legionaries behind them were going to be slightly ineffective. Even after being fitted with lightweight bulletproof armour underneath their uniforms to give them some form of fighting chance, with the exception of Marius himself, swords would only accomplish so much against automatic weapons.

Gunstringer looked highly doubtful that this would work at all, even though none of them showed fear against tanks and automatic weaponry. The only ranged attack for Marius came from a small amount of his men who were archers.

Marcus was the one to walk up to him before the invasion began to try and talk with him. "Look, buddy. We've kinda moved on a little in terms of weapons, if you understand."

"I don't need to be told again." Marius dismissed the warning. "I have been told many times before, what makes you think I'll respond any differently."

Marcus realized that Marius was probably right, and that he wasn't doing much more than wasting air.

"We shall move for the main attack point now. The young lady and squirrel will lead the way."

It was Conker who was first into Leanbox, earning some weird looks from the people there, though none of them stopped him.

That was until he pulled out an assault rifle and started firing into the air. People were pretty quick to start running, with soldiers evacuating people as Conker ran back to Marius and the rest of the team, ready to regroup.

"You're 100% sure about this?" Kameo asked, as she was ready to carry out the task Marius had assigned to her. "You must. We will need everything to go our way." Marius reassured her.

"Alright!" Kameo braced herself, flying out into the fray, and turning into a volcano, one of her many powers that came with control over nature. She literally blew her top, spitting molten lava and flaming rocks at nearby buildings, scattering the already divided soldiers even further.

"Now men, CHARGE!" With a loud battlecry, Marius' men charged with their leader into Leanbox, approaching the first of the tall buildings which were being devastated by Kameo.

Before he gave any more orders though, he turned to Gunstringer. "You, cowboy! Into the city, apprehend the villains responsible!" Gunstringer nodded, taking advantage of the massive amounts of confusion and chaos caused by all the fighting to break trough the frontlines and make a dash for the tallest building in the whole city. It suited him down to the ground to take revenge on a gang of criminals like that.

He was able to run through with relative ease, not even having to fire his revolver once before reaching a part of the city that had no soldiers. The Basillicom wasn't too far away either.

"Hold it right there." It was a voice, gruff and with a southern accent like his. It looked like a cowboy, with a beard and everything, pointing a crossbow at Gunstringer.

He wasn't quite human, despite many similar characteristics, and the ammo he used was very colourful, and unusual. Gunstringer already had his revolvers pointed at him.

"You're one of Cortana's men, yeah?" The strange man asked.

"S'right. You're one of Green Heart's men, I take it." Gunstringer replied.

"Name's Stranger." Stranger introduced himself. "Didn't think I'd find another cowboy."

"Gunstringer." Gunstringer introduced himself. "Feelin's mutual."

He quickly refocused though. "I ain't here to chit chat. You know what I gotta do, right?" Stranger nodded, as the two formed an 'X' with their weapons, taking them to their own battlefield.

* * *

Down the more narrow streets, Marius' men thrived on the close quarters conditions created by Kameo's destruction, though on wider streets, it was still advantage Leanbox. All Marius and his men could to was try to protect themselves as best as they could. Though yet again, Marius came with a battle plan.

The Leanbox soldiers opened fire, while the legionaries got their shields up, creating deafening noise as the bullets ricocheted off the shields. "Now, fire!" Marius commanded, as the archers fired, with results yielded immediately. The flaming arrows pierced the armour of the soldiers immediately, leaving them wide open as they cried out. "Now men, charge!" All the legionaries followed Marius' lead, as their opponent was slow to adapt against the rapidly advancing opponent, with the nearest soldiers being cut down almost immediately.

Banjo was using Kazooie as a gun to knock out Leanbox soldiers, until he was interrupted by Voodoo Vince, who initiated a battle with him.

But that didn't matter. Marcus Fenix and Conker could see it too, that despite all their hard work, Marius made the plan work. He looked like a superhuman charging into battle against a hail of bullets.

The bullets seemingly had no effect on him, bouncing off his armour and shield with the occasional shot that hit him being more like a punch than a piercing wound. As another terrified soldier fired over his shoulder before being fatally sliced open in retaliation, followed by the next unfortunate soul, and the next, and so on and so forth.

The way Marius fought, it was as if he was boiling over with rage, every strike being thrown as if his next enemy was responsible for the downfall of Rome itself.

He struck fear into the hearts of his opponents, even with their guns they sometimes just gave up rather than face him, and those who didn't give up died with fear frozen on their face.

Alan was a first hand witness, as he saw Vince emerge from his battle with Banjo Kazooie unconscious, he knew it was only getting worse for his side. The duo didn't have time to collect him though, as gun wielding soldiers hounded them off. Alan ran out into the middle of the street where Vince was and scooped him up, then ran back to the Basillicom.

He ran to the main room, where he found Hisako, looking very lifeless as she stood using het Nanigata as a crutch. "H...Hisako?" Alan tried to get her attention, hoping he got her name right. She then immediately snapped into life, as if she was snapping out of a trance.

"Hisako, they need you out there, there's a battle going on!" Alan informed her. That made her eyes shoot wide open.

She yelled something in Japanese before rushing for the way out as fast as she possibly could. Once she was out on the street, oh boy...

The legionaries found it was their turn to panic, as Hisako lunged into the air, Nanigata, pouncing like a jungle predator. Her demeanour in many cases made the legionaries completely petrified, so they didn't even try to prevent their own deaths.

Hisako fought like she had a chip on her shoulder. She was skilled, undeniably so, but she was driven by tenacity more than skill. She screamed with every strike because she poured her soul into every strike. For her, fighting was a way of life, something she loved, and, at this stage, pretty much all she had.

"Sir!" A legionary cried out. Hisako saw him running away and already knew she wasn't going to let him escape. Teleporting in front of him and screaming at him, showing her razor like teeth was enough to terrify him, then one bite to the head, and he stopped screaming. The only movements were occasional spasms.

But Hisako had seen the man the legionary had referred to as 'sir'. He clearly was one of the Elite 'Cortana' placed her faith in, as he hadn't lowered his sternum or shield, showing no fear in the face of the apparition.

Hisako knew from looking at him that he was probably a great warrior. Tall, muscular, and showing no emotion in his stance, he gave the impression that to him, Hisako was just another fight.

Marius was reminded of his battle with Boudica in the ruins of Rome as he approached the ghost. It was...strange, to day the least. Both so alien to one another.

Of course, the ways of both the Samurai and Romans had long since been lost to history, though their legacies remain. Hisako and Marius were relics from the society of yesterday, in a world where tradition and honour had been shunted down the list of priorities. But that didn't bother them. They knew that their efforts would yield results. Show people what is earned through sacrifice, achieved by commitment, and upheld by honour, and they will be captivated. They will follow, and then they will lead. They will breathe new life into a dead culture, though it would only be possible for either through superhuman effort. It was effort which they were more than willing to put in though.

Hisako began to speak in Japanese, with her stutter completely gone. Sure enough, Marius found himself understanding the strange entity.

"Finally, someone like me." She said, in a voice as ghastly as her appearance. "I fail to see our connection." Marius responded, with making it so that the creature could understand.

"We are fighters, are we not?" Marius conceded. "Then fight!" Her attitude quickly flipped to aggression again just like that, brandishing her Nanigata.

"I am Marius!" He announced. "Son of Rome! Against me, you will taste no victory!"

Wasting no more time, Hisako lunged at Marius, who brought up his sternum to block her swing, creating an X shape. Both of them would've been alarmed in any normal circumstances, but they both understood the nature of the battles.

The rubble and ruin was still the center of the battlefield, minus anyone who was involved in said battle, but that concerned neither fighter. Their focus was on one another.

They knew the stakes. Both had to win, loser wasn't going to get away. Victory was the most important thing, and both were willing to fight for it, by any means necessary.

Hisako was first, launching an overhead swing to catch the Roman warrior off guard.

Marius raised his shield as Hisako came down on him, and come down on him she did. Even with his amazing strength, Marius felt the full force of her poweful swing, lowering his shield enough that she was in for a serious chance to effectively end the fight early on. The wraith jumped on him, tackling Marius to the ground and biting him. Marius cried out as she did so, composing himself enough to grip his sternum and plunge it into her skull, causing her to reel back and get up. Marius had practice with his methods, and knew not to check for injuries. It seemed that his opponent did too, as she didn't stop to check either, back into the fray straight away with a similar plan of lunging into the air and coming down from above with overwhelming strength.

Marius saw it coming though, and stepped back just enough to avoid the swing. He kept his shield up though, anticipating another attack, and he was correct. Hisako began rapidly slashing at his shield, screaming in anger with evry swing. It made Marius wonder what drove her to such anger, but that was a matter for another time. Hisako tried launching an attack over the top of his shield, which Marius perfectly anticipated. He ducked down behind his shield, narrowly avoiding a stab from Hisako, before putting his full weight behind the shield and ramming into Hisako with the shield. The Japanese warrior fell backwards, losing her Nanigata as she fell, giving Marius a perfect opportunity to get some hits in. He swung his sternum again, dealing some nice damage to Hisako, as well as feeling his meter fill up enough for one of those moves Cortana had told him about.

But as he was about to launch the final swing, Hisako disappeared under the ground. Marius stopped, startled at the sudden change of tactics from his ghostly opponent, and before he knew it, he was being attacked from behind, a relentless assault from Hisako turning the tables entirely. Marius was finally able to get his shield up again and block a strike, though he felt severely weakened by the assault.

* * *

"Hey, you!" Shu grabbed the attention of Kameo, letting Blue Dragon assume his fighting stance behind him. "Why don't you try a real fight?!"

Kameo wasn't interested in childish debate, but seeing Blue Dragon made her realize this kid was a serious threat.

"Alright kid! You want a fight, let's go!" Kameo rushed off in her base form, launching a kick as Shu used his Bo staff, triggering another Elite Battle.

But despite Shu's valiant efforts, however the battle turned out, it would take a lot more than just that to turn the tide. Aside from those already involved in battles, Brutus and Ezio were busy fighting off legionaries, as were Alan and Cooper. As for the other two, who had chosen to fight, things had already been decided.

Gunstringer had returned to reality, along with his opponent.

He had won against this man called Stranger. Best to take him with him, they could use all the captures they could get. Cortana would probably really appreciate it too.

But having arrived back from the battle, he expected the fight to be half lost, but it was the opposite.

Gunstringer was now speechless. The so called 'Outdated army' had devastated Leanbox's far superior technology with ease, going through them like a hot knife through butter. But for now, he turned back to his weakened opponent. The one called Stranger was lying unconscious on the ground, leaving himself wide open to capture. Gunstringer decided that maybe the battlefield could do without him for a few minutes, slinging the steef over his shoulder and carrying him off the the mouth of the forest, ensuring that something was gained from the fight today.

But as he was taking Stranger back, he saw Banjo Kazooie dragging back a KO'd Stubbs. "I'll be. This is turnin' out to be a mighty success."

"I, for one, never doubted him!" Kazooie proudly announced. "Unlike you guys!"

"That's enough bird brain, now keep yer voice down. Want 'em to hear us?" Kazooie reluctantly conceded, and remained quiet.

"Say, d'ya have anythin' in case these vermin kick up a fuss again?"

Kazooie shook her head. "We have to wait for everyone else to come back."

Gunstringer sighed. "Kickin' myself for not doin' somethin' about that. Anyway, guess we have to wait now, huh?"

* * *

Hisako braced herself for the next attack. She had dealt a severe blow to her opponent already, and the urge to finish the fight was stronger than ever. But she would by lying if she said she wasn't weakened as well.

"You are a most skilled warrior." He complemented. "But you let anger cloud your judgement." Hisako simply screamed at him, which, even Marius had to admit, was unnerving to say the least. But he would not be so easily deterred.

Marius swung his sternum, colliding with the Nanigata, feeling every ounce of strength he had being used. This woman was incredibly strong.

Hisako was surprised thay this man was equal to her strength, but she didn't think to much about it, simply swinging again and again, wearing him down before striking again, wounding Marius once more.

But that was when she noticed something.

A vial began to float down from above. Hisako remembered something Green Heart had told her about the items that would grant her almost guaranteed victory over her opponent in one of these fights. She hadn't mentioned any other items, so could this be it?

It was a vial in the shape on an X, filled with a glowing green substance. Looked like something that could be connected, given all the green stuff she had seen which ended up being connected to the Microsoft Elite. A reasonable assumption. But her opponent evidently had the same idea, jumping into the air to try and grab the vial. Hisako screamed and grabbed his foot, pulling him to the ground before he could grab it. The vial was slowly descending anyway, so only a matter of time before either one of them got it. Marius charged with his shield, bashing Hisako out of the way as he waited for the vial to drop into his open arms, but Hisako didn't take anything lying down. She charged again, wanting to kill Marius with every strike that she dealt.

Marius however, had wisened up to suc simple tactics. Waiting for the right moment, he threw a pilum, and struck Hisako in the chest. The onryo wheezed as it knocked her onto her back, and only allowed her enough time to get up and see she was already too late.

Marius had the vial in his hands, safe and sound, and was already popping off the cork and chugging the whole thing. At first, nothing.

Then, a flash of green. He started glowing green, radiating it like he was radioactive or something.

The power flowed through him like a raging river, waiting to be let out. Marius couldn't have held it back even if he wanted to, so good thing he was willing and ready to use it.

He felt power rushing to his veins, as he did when he had been resurrected. It felt invigorating, giving him the will to start anew in the fight and go after his opponent regardless of any advantages she held.

Hisako lunged in again, only to be stopped effortlessly by Marius' shield, which was then used to redirect the long blade so Marius could rush in and start slashing wildly. Hisako couldn't possibly block, and if she were a human in a normal battle, she would've been bleeding profusely. Marius finished up with a strong hit from his shield, sending the onryo to the ground.

Marius swung again, only to hit the ground as Hisako yet again teleported away and tried another attack from behind, but Marius was equal to it, swining his sternum to collide with the Nanigata.

Hisako slashed rapidly, getting increasingly frustrated as more of her attacks were blocked without getting a single hit. She tried to lunge in and stab Marius to finish the fight, but that was a fatal mistake.

The enhanced Marius dodged to the right and grabbed the Nanigata. Hisako, alarmed at this, tried pulling back her weapon, but she was no match for Damocles' strength, as he pulled the weapon out of her hands.

"You fought well!" Marius praised. "I haven't had a worthy opponent in a long time! She too was a lady with a burning passion and anger." He then took a pilum and threw it through her head. Though it disappeared afterwards, the damage had clearly been done.

Hisako stood there, dazed and vulnerable, leaving Marius to finish her off. He bashed her skull with his shield, then sliced open her kneecap with his sternum, forcing her to kneel before impaling her on his pilum. He watched as she struggled against the pilum, wanting to get off, but slowly succumbing to death once again, as the arena faded and both fighters were returned to reality.

"But as she was, you have been defeated at my blade."

"Marius, sir!" A legionary ran over to him. "The enemy is bringing in reinforcements!"

Marius looked to the horizon and saw more soldiers arriving over the horizon, as well as Maya and Sabrewulf.

He then looked at Hisako. The Samurai was sprawled out and left completely open to capture. But did he really want to get involved in that? She would more than likely kick up again, and Marius wasn't sure he could take another beating like that, and that was only if he was able to get aeay carrying her on top of everything else he had. They had already made two captures anyway, and that was enough.

Kameo had been defeated, with Marcus Fenix carrying her over his shoulder towards the forest, not waiting on any further orders.

"Alright lads! Full retreat!" Marius ordered, seeing reinforcements arriving for Leanbox, and realizing what he had acheived was a success enough for today.

The legionaries scattered and ran in different directions, while Conker's rocket launcher fire destroyed more of the city and blocked off plenty of paths for both tanks and foot soldiers. Kameo's eruptions had already created a decent amount of smog and ash before she was defeated, which only added to the complete confusion. It was an excellent cover for the legionaries, who used it to get away easily from their hindered opponent, with the Elite all regrouping in the nearby forest where they had started. No one celebrated the victory as they didn't want to make more noise than they had to, but morale was very high. The legionaries were in a particularly good mood, having beaten an far superior opponent on paper. Soon though, they were able to move on, and they quickly were back to the ship Cortana had supplied them with.

Gunstringer had been silent for the majority of the way back, as had the others who never thought they'd do so well. It wasn't just the legionaries, it was the whole team that conducted itself so well to get that win. But Gunstringer knew that one man was at the helm of it all, and he deserved credit for it.

The cowboy found Marius Titus, who was just taking his helmet off.

"That wasn't half bad." Gunstringer conceded. "But how'd ya get 'em fightin' so well when they might as well be usin' rocks?"

"Well, I didn't tell them they might as well be fighting with rocks for a start." Marius replied. "With that kind of attitude, I think perhaps the rocks would be more suited to you."

* * *

The soldiers didn't bother chasing. As far as they knew, it may as well have been a power hungry demonic army that attacked, as opposed to the small group that did. Even just looking at the casualties, most of them being soldiers as most of the weapons used were simple swords and other weapons where it was hard to hit anything other than your target, their bodies were numerous, possibly thousands killed. The buildings that had been destroyed, some of them integral to military strength in Leanbox, would cost hundreds of millions to repair at least.

And their losses? Maybe a few hundred Roman soldiers at most. It was an embarrassing capitulation, to say the least.

Alan, Vince, Cooper, Brutus and Shu knew they would have to tell Green Heart what happened, and where Stranger went. All in all, it had been a disaster for their side, with the other group having made so much of an impact.

Hisako picked herself up. She felt pretty sore all over, for the first time in a while. It was clearly down to her battle. That man, the Roman...

Who was he? What was his goal, his purpose? Regardless of how many questions she had, Hisako knew this would not be the last time she saw Marius Titus.

 _ **Author's Note**_

Y'know, if I did rivalry pairings for Microsoft Elite, there are a few obvious ones, like Team Fortress vs Overwatch, Balrog vs TJ, Chief vs Doomguy, etc.

But this one is my favourite. I have my reasons, but I really like this matchup, and you can bet it's not the last time you'll see it.

Aside from that, the invasion was a moderate success for Cortana's side though it remains to be seen how Green Heart's side will react.

Oh yeah, and Gunstringer now speaks fluent Cowboy.


	20. Enter King Dice

There had been some new arrivals at Ultratech HQ in recent days. The Tipsy Troop, a group of three human sized sentient beings, one a martini glass, one a whiskey bottle, and the other a rum glass. Then there was Chips Bettigan, a 7' tall stack of poker chips, as well as Mangosteen, a giant 8-Ball with a face, in addition to Mr. Chimes, a sentient cymbal monkey toy, just to name a few.

The only thing they had in common was that they were all the Devil's minions. He had sent them here to 'receive proper combat training', not wanting a repeat of when Cuphead and Mugman visited his lair, Inkwell Hell. It was also to get them away for a few days so he had time to practise dramatic speeches and witty one-liners for when he eventually got his revenge, but he didn't tell anyone that.

It surprised a few of the people at Ultratech, but really it made sense. Like ARIA, the Devil had his underlings, all wild and cartoonish like him, of no real interest to any of Ultratech's lackeys. Sadira had her own problems, Kilgore didn't have capacity for complex thought if it didn't involve ripping something to shreds or blowing it up, the Riptors only cared about being fed, and most Fulgores were loyal to ARIA. Cinder and Spinal were the only two who payed any attention to them, and the weird thing was, only one of them attracted any attention.

Oh, yes. His right-hand man. Now, King Dice wasn't particularly entirely in on all of this. He just did what his boss told him to, which involved going to Ultratech to keep an eye on all the minions. The Devil was on the same level of the Lady of the Dead in terms of rank. The Lord of Games was above him, and after that were ARIA and the Shadowman. This meant that King Dice should have been below all of ARIA's underlings, right?

Well, that wasn't the case, oh no. King Dice was cunning, and ARIA could recognize that from the moment he walked through the front doors. Even though the Devil called him "good for nothing" and the Shadowman didn't see anything special, ARIA herself recognized something.

Cunning. King Dice was a sleazy manager, able to make anyone cave into their greedy desires at the Devil's Casino. It was him who had a gauntlet known as the King's Court, Cuphead and Mugman struggled to reach the end of it and then defeat King Dice himself. He was debatably more clever with his tactics than the Devil, since he thought of wearing the brothers down with a few "games" before trying to finish them off.

Granted, it didn't work. Those brothers were persistent, and he would do anything to get back at them for being so humiliated… Almost anything, at least. King Dice had to admit, what the Devil was doing right now, was kind of pushing it. The only reason he didn't quit was because the Devil would probably never stop crying to him to come back, and he also saw potential in working with Ultratech.

ARIA could see that King Dice was clever, and the Devil was not using that enough. She granted him the offer of handling some business-related issues with Ultratech to see if he could handle it, which he gladly accepted. King Dice was a schemer, and a damn good one to have on board. Any issue that came Ultratech and ARIA's way, King Dice was able to fix with just a bit of smooth-talking, offers, and even blackmail.

A man with a literal die for a head, and ARIA found him to be more reliable than anyone else.

Cinder? He was cocky, often cracking jokes, and had some pretty bad blood with Sadira. However, he was intelligent.

Sadira? She had failed ARIA countless times, and would fail again, she had even been swayed by Gargos in her fury. However, she was powerful. Gargos would not have shown interest in her if that wasn't the case.

Spinal? Yes, he was amazingly skilled, but he was just a pawn for now, because ARIA was offering the mask he wanted. Like Sadira, he could be swayed by another party.

Riptor? A mindless beast, she probably had no intelligence.

Fulgore units? And the one Kilgore? They are artificial intelligence.

And the Devil, of all people, had something ARIA did not. Something that was worth being jealous over possibly, and that was a smart right-hand, which the Devil often put to waste. She suggested the idea of at some point, when the Devil falls, that King Dice abandon him to work for Ultratech permanently. He would be protected, be given a large amount of pay, and not be treated so poorly.

What did he have to say to all of that?

"I think you're being soft on me honestly," he chuckled, looking through the papers. It was better for King Dice to handle actual documents rather than technology, since a lot of the stuff at Ultratech was beyond his knowledge. It took a long while for ARIA to get him to adjust to it. "Are you certain that you don't have human emotions, ARIA? Because it definitely sounds like you envy my boss, with how much you seem to spoil me of all people."

"This position can be removed if you believe I am overdoing it. You can go back to being 'lackey' for your employer."

Rolling his eyes, King Dice grumbled. "You didn't have to put it that way, sweetheart. I was only jesting. I'll admit, I wasn't sure if I could pull this off for ya, but I remained confident despite this being all sorts of unfamiliar water!" Shuffling the papers into a folder, King Dice slid over to a safe and tossed the folder in, without spilling any of the contents. Closing it and activating the electrical lock, he turned back to ARIA with a smug expression. "To answer your question… maybe. I stick out like a sore thumb, but I'm sure it will be easy for everyone to get used to me!"

Laughing, he sat back down in the office chair, looking up at ARIA, who remained still. "So, what is it you're doing? Saving people or destroying stuff? I'm getting some conflicting messages to be honest with ya."

"Humanity must succeed and evolve, and shed their frailties."

"Really now? So saving is the answer?"

"Correct."

"And yet," King Dice's smiled widened, "you work with my boss, who tried to nab everyone's souls with the ol' casino, as well as several others that should make ya question what you're programmed for. That crazy doctor, the demon that attacks humans in their sleep, that creepy fellow in the coat! I would understand you workin' with that L.O.G. fellow since you both desire progress in some way, but I dunno about all those other guys." He was tempted to kick his feet up on the table, but knew ARIA would probably not take it too kindly. King Dice did not want to completely push his luck around her.

Although, with the moment of silence she was giving, King Dice was starting to feel like he already did push it with his words. "I mean, I think what you're doing is noble and all, don't get me wrong. I can respect this, even if someone like me is stuck in the past a lil'. It's more like—"

"I understand what you said, I have not taken it out of context. The concern is appreciated, but fear not. This project will not be abandoned, the world's growth will be assured with the frail weeded out. You appear to be the one bothered by your employer's allies." Once again, King Dice mumbled to himself, ARIA could read him too well.

No point in hiding it, even if she took off his position for it. "Not gonna lie to you, it does a little bit. Was hoping that somebody else would feel out of their comfort zone from all this, but I suppose not."

"Letting it bother you, will lead to weakness," ARIA stated, "you are only weak under your employer."

"My, my, I'm startin' to think you want me to abandon my boss for a different reason, sugar!" King Dice cackled once again. "Sorry to say my dear, as much of a gentleman as I may be, I'm afraid that circuitry of yours would get in the way!"

Indeed, that was another thing he had over the Devil. King Dice has an absurd amount of charisma to make ladies swoon, so ARIA had heard from the Devil himself… who was complaining about it, wondering why he didn't get that kind of attention while on the job, but his mere lackey did. It was bad enough that the Devil was already about as mature as a spoiled eleven year old.

ARIA didn't really care for the jokes either way. She silently moved on, curiously pondering what her "father" wanted when she was created. All that King Dice could do was move on as well, while humming his own theme song. He had to wonder how a cartoon character like himself got wrapped up in this mess, but he may never know the answer anyway. He didn't want to get involved with that Elite stuff either, but it seemed like a thing that was inevitable, since the Devil calls upon him often.

However, true to his gentlemanly nature, he wasn't going to completely leave ARIA.

"Oh, one more thing I should suggest, ARIA, before I go back to my regular work." He piped up.

Ultratech's CEO turned to King Dice. "Yes?"

"I appreciated all that kindness you showed me, and well, I felt by responding this way I was being a tad ungrateful. I wanted to do something for you. I think it'll help."

"What might that be?" ARIA asked.

"Well, I think there's a few bad apples at Ultratech. Now, you might know that too. But I'll show you why you need to get rid of them, and believe me, you won't be the least bit sorry for leaving them!" He proudly proclaimed.

ARIA wanted to dismiss it, but her best interests said otherwise. "Very well. I'll give you my time."

King Dice rubbed his hands together in glee. "Excellent! Now, here's what I'm going to do..."

He really should stop letting all of these bother him like ARIA said, it will only make him hesitant, and he knew gosh-darn well that would be silly. What was the worst that the Devil would have to put up with? Those two mugs again?

King Dice being used well by ARIA though, did have a price, one he was well aware of and smug enough to not let himself get pushed around. That was the matter of ARIA's lieutenant, Cinder. Now, Cinder treated his job as something fun rather than a position of power, so… why the hell did this bother him? He was still literally setting the woods on fire should he be ordered, and while he was an enforcer, Cinder never took that part of his occupation too seriously. What was it about King Dice that made him ticked off?

"For one thing," Cinder answered, "the guy looks ridiculous. The purple suit and the bow tie, Jesus Christ. He may as well be twirling that skinny mustache of his too if he wants to go all out."

"I thought for a moment it was the fact he literally sings his own praise, the whole 'don't you mess with me' nonsense." Spinal said. "How does that go again? I can't help but want to laugh at it every time I— Oh, there it is."

"I'm Mr. King Dice, heed just what I say. The Devil has his price, and I'll make sure you pay! I don't have time to mess 'round, and I hope you will agree—"

It cut off right as King Dice passed the two, who went silent just to hear part of the song. Eventually, King Dice twirled and vanished into the floor, leaving the two to snicker to themselves.

"Who does that guy think he is? Geez! I dunno why A-bomb is letting him help us."

"He probably thinks he's smooth with her."

"Oh, as if. He has a friggin' die for a head!" Cinder then started up again. "I'm Mr. King Dice, I'm the gayest in the land! That may as well be what his song is about, he's such a smug piece of shit."

"I say we let Riptor play with 'im!" Spinal suggested, unaware that King Dice was coming back up from the floor, hearing his name mentioned.

"Nah, he'll just warp on out of it and tell on you probably, like the favored, spoiled kid. ARIA wouldn't let us hear the end of it either. A better idea would be to just 'accidentally' set that suit of his on fire, see what happens—"

"Oh, I'm sorry boys," King Dice chimed in suddenly, a scowl on his face as Cinder and Spinal jumped in place. "Am I interrupting something?"

Cinder gave him a cold hard stare. "Ultratech stuff. You wouldn't understand."

King Dice let out a hearty laugh before rushing over and was about to put an arm over each of their shoulders, before looking at Cinder.

"Nothin' personal pal, don't wanna ruin the suit is all." Cinder's glare hadn't dropped. Spinal had remained silent too, sensing something was off.

"Now boys, I know I haven't been a part of this here company for at all as long as you have, but do I feel at home here! It'd be swell if you guys could involve me as much as possible."

"Hey, look." Cinder snapped. "I have no idea what you're tryna say, but this is all professional. I'm only here cause I get paid."

King Dice chuckled again. "Benjamin, may I speak to you in private for a moment?"

Spinal looked to Cinder, who after a bit of thinking, signalled for him to leave the room for a bit.

Once he was out, King Dice rubbed his hands together. A deck of cards materialized and one by one, they shot out in all directions and destroyed every piece of security monitoring in the whole room without looking.

"Now Benjamin my good man, you say you're here for money, am I right or am I right?"

Cinder nodded, as a report materialized in the die-headed casino owner's hands. He whistled. "I'll be. Your weekly wages cover a percentage of all the company's gross income! I can see why any man would be tempted to stay. But here it says "Ben Ferris' Banque de Geneve account holds in excess of One-Hundred and Eighteen Million Euros!"

"Yeah?"

"Mr. Ferris, I understand you live a frugal lifestyle. You rent an apartment, you lease a car, you spend little money on anything else, I don't see what you're trying to achieve."

Cinder spat. "The money is just a measure of how well I'm doing my job. I don't give a shit about spending it on nice houses or fast cars, I just wanna let the world know I'm the greatest goddamn soldier there ever was."

"Oh, I don't think anyone could dispute that, Mr. Ferris!"

"Yeah? Try that Orchid chick working for Green Heart. I swear, if she wasn't so hell bent on truth and justice ideas, ARIA would have my brains blown out just to make room for her." Cinder grumbled.

"I think you're sorely overestimating her abilities, in my opinion." King Dice tried to contradict, but he could still hear Cinder, making less than savoury comments about her dress sense, attitude and skin colour. Rather than butting in, he let Cinder finish his rant, before making his offer.

"Let me tell you something Mr. Ferris sir, I think a man like you should be making that much money in a week. How's about letting me write your paychecks for a while, hm?"

Cinder's ears perked up, though he remained on high alert. "Yeah? And what do you think ARIA's gonna say? Bitch has surveillance everywhere in this shithole..." He stopped and looked around, remembering King Dice's earlier actions.

"Well, what do you say to such a fine proposal?" King Dice asked with a smug grin on his face, knowing the answer before he even got it. A pen and piece of paper materialized before Cinder.

"Just take the pen and sign your name at the bottom, and the money is as good as yours!"

Cinder examined the contract carefully, before turning to King Dice. "Is there something you wanna tell me?"

King Dice was confused. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand. What would I have to tell you?"

"There's gotta be a catch. Like, if I don't suck your dick and call you daddy I get sent to hell or some shit."

King Dice chuckled. "Let's keep this professional first of all. Secondly, there is no catch. You can opt out at any time, just come and see me about it, sound okay?"

Cinder hesitated for one more moment, before putting pen to paper. He signed 'Cinder' and not his real name.

"Mr. Ferris, I would prefer if you were to use your real name when-"

"And _I_ would prefer that damn suit of yours didn't burn to a crisp!" Cinder snapped, coming dangerously close to the King, who raised his arms. "Let's not get too hasty, Cinder will work just fine! It was a pleasure talking with you!"

Cinder had no further comment.

"Oh, and please ask your friend to come inside for a moment!"

Cinder walked out, and turned to Spinal. "Well?"

"I don't know, he's so weird I can't even say what's going on in his head. He wants to see you too, by the way."

"Eh?" Spinal couldn't imagine what the King wanted with him, but he couldn't really imagine much at all when he thought about it. "Alone, by the way."

Spinal assumed that much, but he went inside anyway, ready for battle apparently, judging by the way he held his sword and shield.

"At ease, dear Spinal." King Dice raised one arm, keeping the other behind his back. "I have a proposition to make."

Spinal was already starting to twitch. Why? There could only be one reason, and that couldn't possibly be true...could it?

King Dice went on. "You know, for someone as good at fighting as you, no one really knows a lot about you."

"I have no need for money. Only Ultratech can provide me with what I want."

King Dice took his other hand from behind his back and produced a box. a very technologically advanced box at that, and sure enough, it had the Ultratech logo.

Spinal began twitching even more. It couldn't be possible. There was no way...

"Let's see..." King Dice mused, fiddling with the passcode system on the front of the box. "Serial identifcation number of Ultratech employee known as 'Spinal' is 0056." He explained, punching in the code. The box opened, and then a laser pointer came out of the box.

"Oh yes, a retina scan. Can't be too careul with all this modern technology eh? Whatever happened to a simple safe?" He joked, passing the scan with ease.

Spinal was speechless by this point, knowing what was in the box.

King Dice beamed as he placed the box down and carefully picked up what was inside.

 _"THE MASK OF THE ANCIENTS!"_ Spinal shrieked, lunging for the mask and missing as King Dice stood to one side, hushing him as he picked himself up.

"Not so loudly my dear sir!" King Dice hissed. "We mustn't attract any unwanted attention!"

Spinal nodded in understanding, but just looking in his eyes, anyone could tell he was fixated on the mask, unable to tear his eyes away from it.

"So whaddya say? Leave Ultratech for me, and I'll give it to you by next week." He offered, extending his arm for a handshake.

For a man with no muscles, Spinal was freakishly strong. King Dice learned that from his awfully firm handshake. But that didn't concern King Dice. He had to report back now.

As soon as Spinal exited the room, King Dice reached into his coat pocket and took out a camera.

"Well ARIA, I hope you see what I'm trying to say. Just lookin' out for ya."

ARIA didn't think much. "That Ben likes money and Spinal wants the mask? I am unsure of the point you want to prove to me. The only employee I have my doubts about right now is Sadira."

King Dice chuckled. "How simple things would be if they were your way. ARIA, let's talk about how easily someone could waltz in here and take the mask."

"The mask is guarded behind a state of the art set to kill security system that is immune to all known forms of viral attacks, and that's not even including the box." ARIA informed him.

"But what about money?" the King asked. "Maybe in your old world, it was easy to just buy whoever you wanted, and whatever you wanted. But think now. Money isn't as precious an object anymore." By now, he knew he had ARIA's attention, and more importantly, her concern. "Why, any number of people now could pay Ben's annual salary with ease. He's clearly not loyal to you. And of course, with the chance of an attack from the Elite always pretty high, let me ask you, what are the chances they'll figure out his price before you're able to convince him not to join?"

There was silence. ARIA was having all sorts of thoughts racing through her head, and she was already making a video call.

"Think, ARIA." King Dice argued. "Those three, they're all shallow. They don't give a hoot about Ultratech. What happens when Spinal gets his mask back? Or when Mr. Ferris decides he'd have more fun destroying Ultratech than working for it? How about when that lovely lady Sadira finally gives in to her real master?"

ARIA paused. She did not feel. It was not in her programming to do so. But what was, was the advancement and security of Ultratech. And if what King Dice was saying was true, as he had provided ample evidence for, then how could she trust Spinal, Cinder or Sadira? But at the same time, letting them go would be a tremendous waste of good potential, not to mention, an almost certain massive security leak, especially if Cinder was allowed to leave.

ARIA made up her mind. "I'll arrange for the problem to be dealt with."

She then turned to the giant screen behind her, as it whirred into life, starting the video call.

"It's been a while." ARIA started.

"Indeed. What is it you want? Have those goons made any progress on their objective?"

"Yes. I'll send you a full report later." ARIA nodded.

"Very good. Now, what is it that you called me for at such a time?"

"I need someone I can trust. Ben Ferris and Sadira are both relieved of their duties, and will be informed shortly. I will be placing heavy surveillance on Spinal for the remainder of his time working with Ultratech as well." ARIA explained.

The man on the screen smiled. "I suppose you want me to get rid of them."

"Not on your own. I will provide some help, but Ben Ferris with his vast amount of knowledge on Ultratech and Sadira with the assitance of Gargos, this will be no easy task. Not to mention we're holding off the Elite, and trying to get back the Summoning Key from Remilia Scarlet."

The man scowled. "Hmph! Such an ignorant attitude when the solution is so apparent. That old fool is right, you should destroy the place and abandon everyone there! Not even those reality hopping rats were born with the power to pass through barriers that strong!"

"There are some pieces of hope for them that would render your previous statements false." ARIA countered. "Besides, my primary directive is the success of Ultratech. In dimensions where Ultratech does not already exist, that would be impossible. Especially given the share of success you want and many others want."

"A ridiculously small scale goal." The man criticized, having no idea why ARIA didn't just crush her opponents under her heel.

"But very well. You can consider Ben Ferris and Sadira as good as dead."

 _ **Author's Note**_

I was gonna do Gensokyo, but I got carried away with King Dice. Thanks to N.K. who wrote the one shot that was the basis for this whole chapter, she wrote most of the King Dice/ARIA interactions as well as Spinal and Cinder's first few lines, which I found hilarious XD. Really in character for Cinder too.


	21. Fall of Gensokyo

The group Cortana had sent off to tackle the Lord of Games were well and truly on their way by now, with very little conversation between the members.

It was a powerful group alright, from the walking bioweapon, Alex Mercer, to the master ninjas, Ryu Hayabusa and Kasumi, and everyone in between, it was a formidable force.

Walking across empty plains was the worst. It felt like something was missing, like the world hadn't finished loading yet or something. It wasn't too far until they reached a forest, which was visible on the horizon, but they still had a short distance to go before that.

Even still, the wind was only the second loudest noise on the plains, with the loudest being Alex Mercer. He was whistling to himself, clearly not taking anything seriously. As far as he was concerned, he wouldn't even need to break a sweat against the L.O.G.

But his attitude was poisonous. The other Elite were already making comments behind his back, and it was his well earned reputation as the most cocky bastard in the entire world that had earned those comments. Not like he gave a shit. Only reason he was here anyway was...why was he here? Probably because he thought all the other guys were assholes. Ultratech, Dr. West, L.O.G., he wanted a challenge to test himself, and what better test than to go up against a few completely unlikeable assholes?

There was an ironic joke there, but it flew over his head.

"Hey, buddy." It was Terror Mask. The mask on Rick Taylor's face had already proven it had a mind of its own, and, hiding behind his almost unstoppable host body, wasn't afraid to speak up. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting your little recital there sweetheart, but if you could shut the fuck up for five seconds, I think we'd all really appreciate that."

Rick still hadn't turned to face Alex, as he was ahead of the former scientist, and wanted to keep walking. But Alex wouldn't have that, grabbing Rick's shoulder and getting him to face him.

"Y'know, you'd really wanna take that mask off your face. Makes you a whole lot more punchable Rick." Alex taunted.

"Mask, don't taunt him!" Rick growled at his creepy face guard. "I don't want any trouble."

Terror Mask scoffed. "Look at him, fucking show off. Strutting that ego everywhere he goes, we don't stand a chance unless he tones it the fuck down."

Alex clearly took great offense to that remark, and was already retalliating. "I've got this 'ego', as you put it, 'cause I know I'm pretty fuckin' good. Where the hell would you be without that hockey mask? You barely even stand a chance with me, so you on your own? Not a chance in hell!"

"And none of you will have any chance if you don't stop bickering!"

All of them turned to the one who said that.

It was Shovel Knight.

Indeed, the legendary Knight could speak. It wasn't the first time he'd shown the Elite that he could speak either. No, he had previously apologized to Cuphead and Mugman, as well as Spelunker, but that was it. He seemed very aprehensive about opening his mouth.

Dovahkiin could sympathize. She had been more talkative since joining the Elite, sure, but she understood the burden of lone heroes. Keeping up the tough image in any way they could, even it meant not speaking.

What went through his head? It was hard to say. He was never even seen without his armour, so for all she knew, he might not even have had a head. But sooner or later, she would get him to open up.

* * *

It was dusk in Gensokyo. The residents of the human village were just getting ready to head home for the night, including at the library.

Monika was usually the last one in the library, primarily because she slept there. No one questioned it, they just allowed her to do it. Usually she stayed up a little later than dusk, writing and reading, but tonight, things were different. She couldn't afford to sleep now anyway, unless she wanted to end up like the majority of people in the village tonight.

"Ugh, where did I put the keys?" One woman was still struggling to get into her home. Aside from that, almost everyone else in the village had found their way indoors. "No, wait..." She paused for a moment, remembering where the keys were.

"...he has them. I swear, everytime he says he'll be home early, he always goes off poisoning himself with that wretched drink!" She fumed, enraged at her husband's fondness for alcohol. The sky had already darkened, with the stars and the moon providing the only light for the outdoors. The woman couldn't appreciate it though, focusing more on the cold wind that passed through the village.

"Grrrrrrr..."

The woman turned to the sudden noise which was akin to a lion when it had cornered its prey. "Shinji?" The woman called out. She didn't need any answer to confirm it was her husband. She'd recognize that drunken frame anywhere. Even though he was a small distance away too, he smelled awful, like his skin was decaying. He must have been drinking until it came out of his ears or something for it to be this bad.

"Shinji, get over here with the keys this instant!"

"Grrrroooorrrr..."

"And stop making those noises!" She reprimanded him.

Shinji didn't take too kindly to the harsh words, and began to shamble towards his wife, growling and groaning all the way. It was this that finally let his wife know something was wrong.

The last and final hint was when he let out a deafening roar, before pouncing on his wife, who was now nothing more than his next meal.

* * *

The Microsoft Elite that had been sent to Gensokyo were currently in a small forest outside the village. It was night, with the moon partly covered by the clouds, and a wind blowing in causing the leaves on the trees to rustle.

"Alright, you two seem to know more about this place than we do, so what can we expect?" Cole asked Reimu and Marisa. "Well, the village should be safe, for a while anyway. The guardian of the village, Keine Kamishirasawa, should be able to hide it for now."

Cole nodded. "What does she look like?" Reimu thought. Honestly, it had been a while since she had seen Keine, but she could remember some things.

"Umm...let's see. Long silver hair, blue eyes, usually wears this funny hat, usually wears a dark blue dress, that is, if we see her. She can erase the village from existence entirely if she feels the village is threatened."

"Well then, why are we here?" Tank asked. "Seems like this place is in perfectly safe hands." Reimu shrugged. "Maybe those Ultratech guys, or any of those creeps working with them figured out a way get through."

"Fair point." Tank conceded. "Okay, everyone know what it is they're doing?"

"Steve and I are staying back to build up a shelter for the people to stay in in case something happens." Terrarian informed him.

"That leaves everyone else to go into the village." Tank looked around, seeing no reason why not. "Wait." Cole stopped him and took him aside. "Not everyone." He said. "Why aren't you going?" Tank asked. Cole shook his head. "Oh no, I'll be going alright, it's just Madotsuki. I'm not sure she'll be..."

Tank looked over at the young Japanese girl. She looked very tired, always on the verge of dozing off. Not her fault, but clearly she had something wrong.

"To be honest I just don't trust Green Heart when she sends children like this out into life threatening situations like this, I hope you'll understand."

Tank nodded. "Very well. I see your point, and yeah, she'd probably be better staying here."

Cole went over to Madotsuki and knelt down to her level. "Madotsuki, we're gonna have you stay here for now, is that alright?"

She didn't even give a worded response, opting to drowsily nod to the question.

"Hey wait, is that-Shit, it is!" Tank was pointing to the sky. "What is it?" Steve asked. "Smell the air!" Tank ordered, which Steve obliged to. "It's like...something's burning..."

"The village!" Richtofen realized, rushing off ahead of everyone else. "I hear screams, we better hurry up!" Tank warned, being followed by Nikolai and Takeo.

Reimu began to fly while Marisa mounted her broom and took off to the village, leaving the two creators alone with Madotsuki.

Before long, Steve and Terrarian were busy preparing shelters for the residents of Gensokyo, hoping to have a place where they could direct those that had to be evacuated. The two were using their crafting skills to create the shelter, while the rest of the team went off to the village.

The shelter was made of wood, and was little more than a large hollow cube. Terrarian had done most of that, until Steve had come back with some resources of his own.

Steve paused and thought for a moment. I like the outside, but it could use a little touch inside, don't you think?"

Terrarian shrugged. "I guess. But what could we do?" Steve went inside. "I think we could light it up a little better. The torches are fine for basic stuff, but I think it could use something better."

The Terrarian and Steve both had the unusual ability to store materials and items in a mysterious hammerspace where they could then take out the items at any time for their use. The space was limited, but it was still incredible. Terrarian mostly used his space for storing weapons, which he had plenty of, but Steve's far more creative personality shone through when you saw that nearly all of his space was taken up by building materials.

Steve took out a mysterious material that was a caramel shade with plenty of bright yellow spots. Once placed, hanging from the top near the middle of the shelter, the block illuminated the whole building. "It's called glowstone." Steve explained. "I used to use this stuff all the time back in my home world, way safer and more effective than torches." Terrarian took all of it in as Steve gave more advice, like how iron doors were very effective and practical, how you could easily make a bed from a few pieces of wood and some wool, all in under five minutes.

When he was done, the shelter looked much better. It was still a shelter, but it looked like it could have possibly coped with the amount of people it was going to receive.

"Well, it's all done!" Steve looked on proudly at his project. "Hope we get good use out of it, eh?"

The Terrarian nodded. "I hope so." Then he remembered. Madotsuki. "You think we should put the child in one of the beds?" he asked. Steve nodded. "Yeah, poor kid looks sick."

Terrarian agreed, but she always looked that way. Did she have a condition? If so, what qualifications did she have to be in the Microsoft Elite?

* * *

Gensokyo's human village was completely unprepared for the assault. Reimu was the most shocked of the group, having seen the usually peaceful village being torn apart in front of her eyes. It was like doomsday, some houses were on fire, people screaming and running everywhere like headless chickens and most hauntingly of all, them being chased by their former friends and family.

One man was running away from his former children, only to trip and then get dogpiled as the savages tore into his back, though there were a few residents fighting back with a little success.

"Shit, we're late!" Tank swore, rushing into action, opening fire on the undead masses with his MG08, managing to aim for, and hit the head with every single shot.

Richtofen, Nikolai and Takeo soon joined him, with Cole rushing off to help some wounded people, leaving just Reimu and Marisa standing there without much of an idea what to do.

"Keine Kamishirasawa!" Reimu clicked her fingers. "Something must be wrong, she would never have allowed this to happen!"

The Shrine Maiden grabbed Marisa's hand and ran through the hordes, using her Gohei to blast Ofuda at the undead, which worked very effectively.

Reimu's enthusiasm never wavered, like she compltely believed that there was no way that Keine could possibly be dead, until she saw it for herself.

The human village guardian was sprawled out amongst bodies in the street, crawling around, looking for something or someone that might help.

Keine had been bitten more than a few times, bleeding from her arms, legs and torso.

Reimu gasped. "Keine!"

Keine coughed weakly. "The Shadowman...he got me. Made me sick...I couldn't protect anyone, and I got bitten..."

She coughed up some blood while Reimu's eyes began to fill up with tears. This could not be happening. No way, not someone like Keine Kamishirasawa. There had to be a reason for all of this.

"What about everyone else we know?" Marisa shook Keine, in shock at what she was seeing.

"Sendai Shirou...he started acting strange. I had to kill him. Marisa...your father left. He said he was going back..." She coughed again before continuing. "Hieda no Akyuu, and Kosuzu Motoori are still...in there. Help them."

Reimu nodded, wiping away the tears. "Is there anything else we can do for you?"

Keine nodded. She weakly raised her arm, and pointed at Reimu's Gohei. "I don't want to turn. I have seen what happens...kill me." Reimu shook her head. "I can't!"

"Reimu, please!"

It took some convincing, bit Reimu eventually ended the suffering of Keine, crying more after it with Marisa trying to console her. She stopped crying soon enough, but she could not calm down. It seemed like after that point, the only thing Reimu wanted to do was what Keine told her.

Hieda and Kosuzu were found easily and escorted out of the village by Reimu and Marisa, who quickly returned to killing zombies, Reimu hoping to just let off steam, completely shellshocked by the events that had happened on this day.

* * *

 _Earlier that day_

The Shadowman raised his hands, and with them, a block of Element 115. The substance which his entire war hinged off, a glowing blue similar to a swimming pool at night, relaxing to the eye. All he had to do was leave it somewhere in the village, and it wouldn't be long before at least one person found it, and the infection spread like wildfire.

For now though, the Shadowman had no real business sticking around. He had been asked by ARIA to look at something, and he knew where to find it.

The place he was supposed to go was near a rather nice flower field, very well maintained, clearly done by someone with a lot of time and passion.

But that wasn't his concern. He was more focused on the woman who was lying on the ground next to a tree stump with a dried up pool of blood underneath her.

It was a few feet away from where he stood, but it appeared there had been a very localized forest fire. Something had burned the nearby trees to the ground, but it wasn't any natural forest fire. The main hint at that was evident on a branch of a tree which was burning slowly, only having that one branch on fire. The Shadowman extinguished the flame, putting a stop to the slow burn. The flame was a bright blue colour, very unnatural indeed. Someone had clearly started the fire deliberately, with the intent to kill this woman.

As for the woman, it was kind of hars to see her amidst the charred remains of the nearby trees, but she wasn't completely invisible. Despite being covered in ash and soot from the burning from head to toe, it was her wounds that made her easy to spot. Her red plaid skirt and overcoat as well as her white blouse helped, though they were covered, it wasn't enough to completely shroud them. Her umbrella remained unharmed, propped against a tree stump a few feet away. A sizeable gash in her chest had been bleeding before the blood clotted, resulting in the ugly scab the Shadowman could see.

"This must be Yuuka Kazami..." He muttered. "I cannot fathom why ARIA would invest so much time and effort in a lost cause.

But whatever, it wasn't like he cared for the wellbeing of Yuuka. Just her usefulness.

The Shadowman smiled. "Regardless, my dear Yuuka, I will brin you where you are wanted, and...I'll see what happens."

* * *

"This way, this way!" Tank ushered the screaming crowds past him while providing cover fire, making sure not to hit any humans. Doing a phenomonal job at it too, as the settlement burned to the ground.

Nikolai and Cole had run off to help people in a burning building, thankfully having to deal with less zombies who either saw the fire as a threat or learned that it was.

There was a child hanging from where the stairs in the house might have been if they hadn't fallen down in a burning heap, looking completely terrified. To make matters worse, the roof was starting to cave in, and it completely caved in as Cole dragged the child down, throwing him across to Nikolai, giving the child a chance, but trapping Cole on the other side.

Nikolai emerged from the fires. "I think all the innocents have gone." He explained, firing a shot into a nearby flesh addict's head. "Though the detective was separated from me!"

"He'll be fine, but we didn't get all the civillians!" Tank countered. "Though we can't take much more, or else we're gonna run into somethine else!"

"We wait for Phelps to come back!" Takeo ordered. "Then we leave!"

Reimu and Marisa had little to say, just mowing down as many zombies as they could, getting the odd human to run for safety. Reimu was crying again about Keine, not that she was so attached to her or anything, but just that it came as such a shock to her. No one that powerful died like that. Without a fight. It just didn't add up.

* * *

Shovel Knight was the odd one out when it came to the group assigned to fight the Lord of Games. Really, Cortana should have sent a differing party out, but… Shovel Knight had already been on bad terms with Spelunker and Cuphead, even though he did try to apologize. Spelunker was silent about it, hard to make things certain, while Cuphead continued to act petty and aggressive to him, attempting fisticuffs with the knight.

Mugman accepted the apology at least, but the diminutive knight did get a few jabs for his unimpressive stature, as well as his odd choice of weaponry, though many respected his skill and dedication regardless.

Shovel Knight did break his code, and he felt awful about it. He'd understand if Cuphead was going to still be upset. But right now, he would have preferred looks of actual encouragement, rather than questioning.

The Jack of Blades doubted him, Doomguy kept forgetting he was around, the Terror Mask on Rick's face kept making fun of the "resident manlet", Ryu and Kasumi tried to be respectful at least, even if Shovel Knight stuck out.

But the Dovahkiin, even though she was a little intimidating at first glance, actually seemed to understand Shovel Knight. Fitting, since they were both warriors that had specialties. The Dovahkiin was a last of her kind, and specialized with powers born from a dragon, it almost seemed like she came from Shovel Knight's realm, with him even asking if she knew a Shield Knight. Sadly, she did not.

For now, they sat around the fire, preparing to take out the Lord of Games tomorrow. Everyone had fallen asleep except for them. Shovel Knight was going over his equipment, the Dovahkiin did the same. She noticed the locket amongst the many items in possession, and pointed at it. "Keepsake you have there?"

"Er, no. This is the Phase Locket! It grants powers of invincibility in combat, I bought it off of a merchant during my adventures." Come to think of it though, Shovel Knight never really checked the contents of the locket. He wasn't even certain how to open it at all, since it would usually just fumble around in his fingers, sometimes slipping out. The blue aura around it made it shine beautifully, and as Shovel Knight attempted to open it again out of curiosity, the Dovahkiin took it from him.

Surprised, he reached out to grab it back, about to object before she interrupted him. "Here," she muttered, opening the locket and staring at the contents inside. She glanced back at Shovel Knight, looking almost suspicious at him. "You bought this," she said, "is that true? Were you aware that the contents of the locket were still there?"

"Were they?" Shovel Knight had been under the impression that it was empty, and that he would give the locket to Shield Knight once he got it open and put something of his own inside, but he should have known better. The Dovahkiin handed it over, showing the inside, which was filled with even more shades of blue, a powerful aura, being contained within the locket, as well as something else.

The words "Seatlan" were inscribed inside, a name that Shovel Knight had heard once. Small pictures were also contained, of various past family members, no doubt sharing that surname. Shovel Knight then closed the locket, looking up at the Dovahkiin. "I swear upon my name, that I will return this to its rightful owner when I am finished with our quest! I will protect this locket with my life, as it had protected mine."

As he packed up the Phase Locket again, he stood there thinking it over. What happened to that boy with the boomerangs? Or anyone in the Valley?

"I hate to break this to you, but there is a high chance your land was invaded by the undead."

"Beings from the Lich Yard?" Shovel Knight questioned.

"No, something far more violent. That small army known as the Overwatch had lost their numbers, and I too, had witnessed many in a village suddenly stormed by the undead. It was like someone intentionally wanted to throw my land into ruin and get rid of me. But they had failed, as Cortana brought me to safety."

Shovel Knight's blood went cold. "How," he muttered, "how bad was it?"

"Many clans were overrun, kingdoms were not able to prepare themselves in time for the dead were too fast, villages stood no chance even if they tried." The Dovakiin explained. "My attempts… could do nothing. Their numbers grew too fast, even with all my strength, I was forced to retreat. A horrible, humiliating thing, but no choice was left."

No, Shield Knight surely had to be alright! She was fine, she had to be! As did everyone else! Propeller Knight, he must've been prepared with his Flying Machine maybe! Specter Knight could definitely handle it, Reize too! And the Black Knight, Polar Knight…

Why was he denying it!? No, they were all in danger! Even if they defended themselves well, the numbers were high, just like the Dovahkiin said.

"I must return as soon as possible! Please, tell Cortana to return me at once!" Standing up tall, Shovel Knight tried to leave, but the Dovahkiin grabbed him. "Release me! I must rescue everyone, the Phase Locket will aid me!"

"We cannot, right now, we must accomplish our goal in defeating the one who calls himself a Lord."

"This Lord can wait! I cannot lose Shield Knight again, not for good! I cannot forgive myself if she—"

Clobbering him over the head, the Dovahkiin knocked Shovel Knight out cold, watching him fall to her feet. She lifted him off of the ground with little problems, sighing in frustration. "Poor man," the Dovahkiin mumbled.

She had to admit, his dedication and heroics were admirable, possibly more than her own, considering he refused to give up so easily. It still hurt her, the fact that she had to turn around for the sake of her own life. She would have preferred going down with honor, thinking about it more.

Maybe this Shield Knight really was alive, with anyone else from the Valley that Shovel Knight came from, but if that wasn't the case… the Dovahkiin was going to try to be there for the smaller warrior. She wasn't going to lose anyone else she was meant to protect.

* * *

Cole had been separated from the group and left with only his Army 45. handgun. To say the least, he was kind of in trouble. But wait, there was a place...no. That couldn't be...no. He had to at least try, no matter how farfetched it was.

Cole ran from the burning wreck. There were still other people running around to draw the attention of the husks, so it somewhat helped widen his path. That wasn't much consolation though, as there were plenty of undead who would've loved to have taken a chunk out of his shoulder.

One of the undead ran directly in front of him, prompting Cole to kick him down and fire a shot through his skull, all while still running. Some of them shuffled after him, appearing to be in no real hurry, while others recognized the opportunity for food and gave chase, always just a few steps behind him. It didn't matter, he was so close to the library by now that all he needed to do, was run insids and slam the door, which was what happened. The zombie found it tough pounding on the door, allowing Cole some time to do what he needed to.

"Hi Cole, I was wondering whether or not you would get here!" Monika waved, cheerful as ever. "What brings you here?"

"Uhhh...police investigation." Cole lied, though Monika saw right through it, raising her eyebrow as if to say 'really?'.

"Well...alright, we're here to get you and everyone else out!" Cole explained. "Now, I think we should be moving!"

It was at that moment that a zombie broke through the wooden door, roaring as he took after Cole. Cole expertly shot him through the head and making a break for the door.

Cole ran out, Monika close behind as the undead focused their attention on the duo. Cole was under immense pressure every time he saw a corpse, knowing his ammo was limited, and one wrong turn would cost both him and Monika dearly.

Monika, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the thrill.

It was Richtofen who first noticed Cole rushing back towards the main group, with Monika by his side.

"Now, go!" Richtofen yelled, attracting the attention of the other three, as they all waited just long enough for Cole and Monika to overtake them before running back to the shelter. The path back was mercifully easy to navigate, though they did have to shoot quite a few zombies who decided to follow them down the path.

When they finally arrived back at the shelter, the first thing the Elite did, with the exception of a sleeping Madotsuki, was discuss what went down.

"The guardian was killed?!" Steve was in shock. "I should have figured from the moment I heard screaming, but yeah."

Reimu was still in shock, and though she had stopped crying, she was visibly shaken by the events. "She said the Shadowman weakened her. I don't know how he could have done that though..."

"Ah..." Richtofen mused. "He's up to his old tricks." Reimu raised an eyebrow. "Old tricks?"

Richtofen nodded. "He will try to bend and break the mind of anyone he requires power from. It is how he got power from Maxis when he needed it, though it is usually far more effective against Guardians and Gods. It is the power of the dark aether at work." The others took note. "We gotta warn Yukari and Green Heart then." Steve realized. "Or else we're gonna be in a huge amount of trouble." The conversation went on, though it eventually faded as tiredness and hearing became issues.

There was a lot of talking going on, to be fair. Inside the shelter, there must've been at least 100 people, not including the Elite. The duo Reimu and Marisa brought in were talking to each other, and at this point, most of the other Elite were settling down for the night too, though some conversations still went on.

Monika turned to Cole. "So now what?" She asked. "I guess we're gonna have to take you all to Leanbox." Cole suggested. "Seems like it's the only safe place left now."

Monika showed genuine curiousity. "Ah. I've heard of such a place, but I haven't seen it or found any books in the library about it. Is it by chance where your new centre of operations is?" Cole nodded. "Yes, it's our new base, but believe me, it's far better than it sounds.

Monika shrugged. "I don't really know what it's like, but I'm looking forward to going!"

Marisa was kept awake. Not becauss the floor was hard, that didn't matter. Not because of the talking, she would have slept through that too. Not even because of the day's events, but because of what she was told at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It rang clearly in her mind, ever since she was told.

Marisa remembered quite well what Patchouli had said.

* * *

"Marisa, Remilia and Reimu already like each other."

Marisa's heart sank. "Wh-what?! That's not true!" She felt her fists clench up, feeling all kinds of emotions at once, but ultimately in denial.

"They've been seeing each other for the past few months now. This isn't really anything new." Patchouli continued.

Marisa bit her lip. She couldn't accept defeat. Not now anyway. Secondly, she was far too proud to simply 'give in'. Patchy definitely had bad blood with her, considering every time Marisa walked away from the mansion with a few books that didn't belong to her and she didn't ask for.

She would find out the truth. She could be better than Remilia anyway, that was something she knew.

 _ **Author's Note**_

And so with that chapter, Marisa finds her best friends lover, the undead attack Gensokyo, which proves to be very eventful, and Yuuka is found by the Shadowman. N.K. once again had some influence, this time with part of the Shovel Knight dialogue. I wasn't planning to have her involved this much, or, at all really, but what can I say? I know you read these, so I'm gonna just say it, that the one-shots are that good that I can't not use them!


	22. Getting into Ultratech

Francis, Orchid, TJ, Balrog, Agent 47, Glacius, Jago and Green Heart had all arrived in Ultratech City, ready for whatever mission it was they were supposed to be carrying out. Orchid remembered, as did Green Heart naturally, but aside from that, the others knew they were there just to destroy Fulgores and kill Riptors, with perhaps an unexpected surprise visit from Spinal, Sadira or Cinder.

What could be said about Ultratech City? It was surrounded by the ruins of old cities, which some people were squatting in, and it didn't get much better once you got into the city itself. While there was a large rich area of town where Ultratech were based, there was also a poorer area, and boy was it poor. The buildings were all high rise, and I mean really high rise, not to mention none of them very well mantained, so it was pretty hard to see much right with the place as a whole.

Their information mostly came from Orchid, who in her own words had said "This city is a shithole. Sure, there's some nice parts, but those all belong to assholes and shitheads who are nothing but puppets for ARIA." She seemed very agitated, obviously with a burning hatred for Ultratech. Even TJ, Jago and Glacius, who all had griped with Ultratech, not even all of them together hated Ultratech as much as her. She never talked about why, but it wasn't like she needed to explain herself. Ultratech being gone was a good thing for everybody.

"So what do we do now?" TJ asked. "Now? We have to wait. There's gates and alarm system we need to disarm before we get into the part of the city we need to." Green Heart explained. "I've studied this system in particular, so I should be able to disarm it. Once inside, we'll have to work our way around the Ultratech building's security, then I'll hack into their database and take their information on this." Green Heart held up a green USB stick with an 'X' going across it. "A USB stick? I figured they'd be a little more advanced." Agent 47 raised an eyebrow.

"No, a Leanbox product. The Leanbox Serial Bus! With universal compatibility _and_ a full 10 Terrabytes of memory!" Green Heart had almost gone into marketing mode, but she managed to restrain herself and get to work.

TJ was satisfied with the answer he got, and put his hands in his pockets, starting to whistle. It was then that he noticed that there weren't many people around at all, for a place that should've been so unhealthily overcrowded.

"Damn, sure is quiet today." He remarked. "Didn't you hear?" Orchid asked, looking at him as though he had overlooked something totally obvious. "Loyalty tests are today."

"Indeed." Green Heart concured, already working on the disarming of the system. "After I took up arms against ARIA and her team, she became paranoid that people would learn the truth about Ultratech. To prevent any leaks from inside the city, all citizens became required to complete loyalty tests. Failure in these tests could be met with lifetime imprisonment or death."

"What? That's insane!" Francis spat. "Not in this world." Orchid replied. "No justice here. Only Ultratech."

Francis shook his head. "No, I just don't...how could a single company become that powerful?" Orchid was scowling now, Francis clearly having asked the wrong question.

"You're FBI, right? So you know about the Roswell Incident." Francis didn't really know how to react to being put on the spot so suddenly like that, but he shook his head. "I've heard of it, but if you're suggesting that I-" "Your guys tried to pull the blanket over everyone's eyes, paying off everyone to say that something else happened. Until Ultratech came along. Turns out, justice has a price, and Ultratech were able to pay for it. They got their sticky fingers on what was left and reverse engineered the technology to create the best machines around. Soon, no one could compete. Ultratech only became bigger and bigger every year, with no sign of stopping or slowing down, until we got to where we are now."

Then there was silence. "And guess what? They haven't stopped growing." Francis wanted to say something, but he didn't expect anything close to that from any of the members.

TJ went to go and talk with her, but before going, he stopped. Looking at the group, everyone who should've been there was there. Except one member, and TJ knew who it was.

Balrog had gone missing. But TJ wanted to go and talk with Orchid right now, and it wasn't like the pugilist could've gotten far.

* * *

Balrog was in the shithole part of Ultratech City too, in a place he knew would be empty, except for the rats. The ground was mostly dry, except for a few puddles of piss, from the rats and humans, along the side. It was a narrow backalley, cracks running along the dirty walls, which really gave it a claustrophobic atmosphere.

Vega was sitting on top of some trash cans, claw and mask already on. No sign of F.A.N.G. though.

"Hey, I got a message from the boss. What the hell does he want?" Balrog demanded.

Vega stood up, but didn't move any closer. "Ah yes. You see, our allies at Ultratech have detected some rats. They want us to weed them out." Vega explained.

"Those guys? Can't they get their own work done?"

"I thought you would be loyal to them so long as they paid, which they most certainly will." Vega countered. "Unless of course..."

Vega took a step forward, but Balrog held his ground.

"Let's get down to these rats. Who they are, what they look like, and where you can find them." He continued, his claw slowlw moving with his hand.

"A man made of fire, a woman with deathly pale skin, hm? No, you wouldn't know anyone like that."

Balrog braced himself, ready to fight. "A tall and muscular African-American pugilist with zig-zag hair and Shadaloo branded gloves? I think we both know who that is."

"How the hell did you know?!" Balrog demanded, in his mind half saying 'oh crap' but also relieved he no longer had to hold back when it came to Vega.

"Lord Bison himself will want to see him. You must keep him in good shape for that!" F.A.N.G. chimed in, blocking off Balrog's only path for escape.

"I'm impressed. I didn't think you were foolish enough to bite the hand that feeds! Clearly I was wrong!" F.A.N.G. chortled.

"The temptation to kill you here and now is overwhelming. But alas, we must keep you alive. This will hurt, a lot."

Balrog struggled to find a solution to his predicament. The pretty boy on one side and the lapdog on the other. He wasn't very well equipped to take down both of them at once. Better focus on Vega, even if it meant F.A.N.G. would get him it was worth it if he brought Vega down with him.

Speaking of Vega, he was looking up. Whatever reason, Balrog wasn't gonna waste an opportunity to absolutely floor him. Tensing up his fist, Balrog delivered an almighty blow to Vega's gut, sending the Spaniard crashing into the wall at the end of the alley.

"You haven't lost it yet. Good, cause we're gonna need it." A voice observed, followed by the sound of feet hitting the ground.

Balrog turned to see the other person who had dropped down.

"Miss me much, big boy?" Juri Han.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Balrog demanded. "Yeesh. That's kinda rude. Not even a 'hello'?" She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I think we should take care of these guys first. They're kind of a problem, wouldn't you say?"

Balrog didn't have much time to decide, Vega had already picked himself up and was taking a moment to gather himself before presumably launching a strong attack.

He was right, as Vega flew in again, claw extended to kill. Balrog stepped back as Vega landed and slashed again, narrowly missing as Balrog punched again.

Juri had a tough time avoiding F.A.N.G.'s poison attacks where he simply lobbed sludge at the Korean psychopath, even landing a few hits, but she was more than a match for him at close quarters. Every time the Shadaloo henchman tried to surprise her, he was met with a savage kick to the jaw, strengthened by her Feng Shui Engine.

Balrog broke through Vega's offensive front, smashing the claw off his hand and sending him flying into the same wall, hoping for a brutal follow up. He was successful, landing a few more punches before Vega slipped underneath his legs and rolled away from him as he tried to stomp on him, then re-arming himself and focusing on Juri, who had her back turned. It was clear she had the upper hand, but Vega was poised to get a seriously good hit if she didn't turn around.

"Watch it!" Balrog called out. Juri turned just in time, seeing Vega ready a hasty attack, and subsequently miss as she ducked underneath and swept him off his feet, before picking him up and throwing him at F.A.N.G., sending the two down in a heap.

"Nice catch." Juri remarked as she and Balrog went to finish off the two Shadaloo henchmen.

But they had got their hopes up for nothing. F.A.N.G. laughed as he produced a vial of poison and threw it at the ground, releasing a large cloud of purple smoke, forcing the two to retreat.

"Damn it, they're getting away!" Balrog swore as the cloud continued to grow, before slowly starting to dissipate.

Sure enough, when the smoke cleared, Vega and F.A.N.G. were gone, nowhere to be seen.

"Now, we better find somewhere safe before those robot dudes show up." Juri said before starting to run off. "I think they're all gone today. I didn't see any." Balrog pointed out. Juri rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like that completely eliminates the risk. Come with me."

They ran for a bit, before Juri grabbed him and pulled him inside an old abandoned building, propping a piece of wood against the opening to cover it.

"Alright, now what was that stunt back there all about?" Balrog questioned. "I was saving your ass." Juri replied, still smiling. "You're kind of important to me -NOT in that way though." Juri grimaced like a young child, showing her immature nature remained strong.

"How so?" Balrog asked, failing to see how he would matter a damn to this girl. "You know how it is, right? Bison wants everyone that stood in Shadaloo's way dead. He's doing a pretty good job so far, but I'm not easy prey. Now, he wants to concentrate his efforts on me, but that would leave the door wide open for that weirdo Ryu to kick his ass, or anyone else for that matter."

"You want me as a dummy." Balrog realized. Juri raised her eyebrows. "Wow, I didn't think you were that smart." Balrog's expression soured. "Watch it!" He growled. "Anyway," Juri continued, dismissing the threat. "Sort of, but it's not as bad as it sounds! Think about it. You and me against him! We'll make that bastard pay!" Juri was becoming increasingly more animated and enthusiastic, though Balrog just sat there with that same look on his face, taking in all the information he viewed as important.

"I'll even leave the pretty boy for you~" She coaxed, as Balrog realized something. "An' how much am I gonna get paid for this."

Juri sighed, not disappointed, but annoyed. "Are you serious?" Balrog nodded. "You have more money than most people will ever see in their lives, and you still want money?!"

"None of your business, now what are you gonna offer me?" Balrog demanded. Juri shrugged. "$10 an hour okay for a thirty hour week?"

"That's..." Balrog began counting on his fingers. He ran out of fingers. "Anyway, I already make more than ten times that money. What makes you so special?"

"Oh?" Juri pressed, hoping to push his buttons and wind him up. "I didn't think the big bad Crazy Buffalo was such a goody two-shoes " She taunted. Balrog didn't react though. "So? They pay me. Good and evil, all means nothin' to me so long as I see the cash."

Juri rolled her eyes again, letting out another sigh. "You're an asshole, y'know that? Were you born that way, or did you have to work on it?"

Balrog winced a little, though Juri did not see. After a moment of silence, she took off. "Well, I gotta be going. Wouldn't wanna interrupt the good guys top secret mission to raid the base!" She grumbled with a heavy coating of sarcasm. "How the hell did you know about that?" Balrog demanded. "Aside from your crew there's another one in the city. I assumed you were both here for the same thing." With that, she was off.

Balrog shook his head, and walked off, back to where he knew the Elite were. He was probably too late by now anyway, having spent far more time than he had hoped away from the group. The least he could hope for was that no one would get suspicious.

When he eventually did arrive back, no one paid any attention to him, except 47, who shot him a look that suggested he at least somewhat knew what was going on. TJ and Orchid were talking, which seemed like it was getting a little heated while Glacius and Francis looked on, and Jago seemed very wrapped up in his own thoughts.

"Right!" Green Heart announced. "Security systems are down, let's move as quick as possible!" With that, the Elite began running, with the streets still being very empty. This loyalty test was really a blessing.

Green Heart decided to fly towards the building and wait at the ground floor. It was really breathtaking once you got into the actual city, and Ultratech's technology was pretty impressive to marvel at.

But then, she saw something out of the corner of her eye that made her stop.

No.

That couldn't be.

The sneaky bitch.

She immediately flew back down to ground level and to her Elite. "Everything alright?" Glacius asked. "It's her!" Green Heart gritted her teeth, a mix of frustration and surprise that her plans were in danger. "Cortana's here with her Elite, we have to move to the top quickly! Change of plan, no stealth, just go!"

* * *

Chief, Shepard, Sam, Walters, Joanna and Jason had already gotten past the city perimeters, but that wouldn't make their task any easier. Ultratech had an almost Orwellian grip on the city, being able to watch out for suspicous activity and behaviour anywhere.

"So now what?" Chief asked. "We have to find a way to sneak into Ultratech HQ." Cortana explained. "That way we can take vital data on all the Microsoft Elite, and that will surely give us the edge we need."

Chief agreed. "Knowing about those other guys will definitely help a lot. I can't really even begin to imagine what's on the other side." Cortana nodded. "I have some idea, though it's not going to be easy. Still, if we have the knowledge on our side we should have a crucial advantage against them. We have thirty minutes from now, by the way. I've called a chopper to come pick us up at the pinnacle then, so we can't be late."

"Why such a short time?" Sam asked. It was a reasonable question. "I was going to hold off on it for at least an hour, but when the security system came down by itself, I'd hoped we could get the job done faster."

"So I take it we're not going for the stealthy approach then." Joanna asked, checking her pistols. "That's the other thing. There's no way the system would just shut off like that. Someone would've had to have deactivated it."

* * *

It took a while, but Green Heart's Elite finally made it to the pinnacle, where Green Heart had already made her way up to the Ultratech database, and was sorting through everything. Orchid was held back by a Fulgore, but was able to get past it and reach Green Heart.

The pinnacle had stairs on either side of it, with mostly glass walls, making it quite the arena for a climactic fight. It also meant that the group was able to split up while climbing the tower, causing further confusion to the security at Ultratech who struggled to pin down any one location to send reinforcements too.

As for Green Heart, she was already after not only bypassing security, but had already deleted a large chunk of files and stored even more on the LSB. "Wow. How did you get past their security so easily?" Orchid asked, impressed. "I'm her CPU too. I know the password to this one at least. She must have caught on though, other passwords have changed."

"Like what?" Orchid asked, fending off a Riptor. "Communications, marketing, accounts, transactions, all sealed off. Only the database had the same password." Green Heart explained.

She waited a second before pulling out the LSB. "There. It's done. We have all the data we need on this stick. Now let's get out of here before we run into more trouble."

"Hey guys, we're moving!" Orchid called out. The others were quick to respond, rushing away as the force of Ultratech came down on them in full force. The group opted to split up, with the Killer Instinct four going down one way, and the others going the other way. It might have been easier for Ultratech if it was just them, but with Green Heart on their side though, the odds were much more balanced.

Even if she was down at the ground floor, it was still a huge help as Orchid, TJ, Jago and Glacius came down their flights of stairs.

Then they ran into the other four. They too were busy fighting off Fulgores and Riptors, but they still noticed the Killer Instinct four stopping.

Joanna, Jason, Sam and Shepard had their guns pointed, occasionally refocusing to kill a Riptor or Fulgore before returning their attention.

Jason Flemming was the first to realize they weren't going to get anywhere. "You guys move on ahead! I'll hold these guys off!"

"Are you insane?!" Shepard asked, firing a few rounds into another Fulgore. "You'll never hold them all off!"

"They can only take me one at a time, I'll be fi-" Before he could say anything else, a flash grenade went off in his face, blinding him and the others, as well as all the Ultratech goons.

When the flash died down, the Elite on Vert's side were gone, as if they'd never been there. "Damn it! We let them get away!" Joanna gritted her teeth. "Never mind that, let's go while we still can!" Sam ordered, as they raced up the stairs to the pinnacle. Jason hung back, making sure he hadn't missed anybody. Just a few Fulgores and Riptors, who by now were being refocused to the pinnacle to limit the damage caused by the Elite.

Then Jason turned around, only to see Orchid standing there ready for a fight. "I gotta say, this is pretty much how I would've planned it."

"One on one? You think that's any easier?" Jason asked, prepared to fight in the way Cortana had told him about.

Orchid was already walking towards him as the Ultratech goons still struggled to see clearly, one eskima stick outstretched, as Jason had his grappling hook.

"Seems like you know how these fights go already. But anyway, I'll still kick your ass."

Jason laughed at the two crossed weapons. "Heh, don't count on it." As they crossed weapons and the green 'X' took them away from all other distractions, the fighters prepared for what would be their first Elite Battle.

Orchid squared up to Jason. He might have looked like an ordinary person, but he clearly had some level of skill to be selected for the Microsoft Elite. Orchid never underestimated her opponents either, and this was no different. Jason was having the same thoughts, knowing that his opponent was strong, and nothing else. Still, he was out there to prove he was stronger, and he was adamant that he would be able to prove it.

Then, the fighting begun.

Jason opened the formalities, firing his WSP40 pistol at Orchid, striking her with the first two bullets, but missing with his next few shots as Orchid closed the gap, attacking with her eskima sticks relentlessly, then knocking Jason into the air before finishing with a gravity defying helicopter kick she called Flik Flak.

"So, you're pretty good." Jason admitted, getting to his feet. "Looks like I'm gonna have to take this seriously!" Truth be told, he was already taking this plenty seriously, but he wasn't prepared for how strong and skillful Orchid was. He switched to the WSMP40 Sub Machine Gun and began firing relentlessly, scoring plenty of hits this time as Orchid looked for a way around the assault.

She decided to perform the Blockade Runner, sliding underneath the heavy fire and connecting with Jason's legs, sending him flying. He was quickly back on his feet though, and he launched a punch at Orchid. She was well prepared though, dodging and hitting him several times with her eskima sticks. Jason gave then gave her a knee to the gut which winded her, before landing a heavy punch to the head that caused Orchid to stagger backwards.

He then took out his WMP40 again and began firing, but he wasn't prepared for Orchid to become a flaming cat. Literally, Orchid had become a flaming cat, and even more bizarre, went straight through the bullets. Jason's jaw hung open, even as the firecat charged him and tackled him into the air, setting him up for almost certain death.

Orchid waited for him to come down again before sending him back into the air with her eskima sticks, then performing Flik Flak again to keep him in the air, then waiting a third time as he almost hit the ground, before really turning on the style, hit after hit with her eskima sticks, mixing in a few kicks for variety, before Jason landed a few feet away from her, struggling to get to his feet.

Orchid was now charging up a projectile attack between her eskima sticks, and was just about ready to fire.

As Jason finally steadied himself, Orchid fired. The projectile blew up his skull immediately, leaving nothing on his shoulders as the rest of his body fell to the floor.

Orchid felt herself return from battle, walking over to Jason as he lay defeated on the floor.

So just like that, the fight was over. Jason had done his best, but Orchid was simply on top of her game, and when that was the case, very few people stood a chance.

"Come on Orchid, let's get out of here!" TJ called, delivering another savage uppercut to a Riptor's jaw, incapacitating the beast. Orchid nodded, slinging Jason over her shoulder. "Fine, but he's coming with us."

"I didn't say he couldn't!" TJ countered. "Now come on!" With that, Orchid sprinted for the exit along with the others, avoiding conflict as much as they possibly could as they bolted from their mission.

On the other side however, Jack Walters was returning from battle as Francis York Morgan was sprawled out on the floor. Walters made no smart remark, simply throwing the FBI agent over his shoulder and continuing to the pinnacle where Cortana was already deep into Ultratech's database. Some of it was locked off, but Cortana only wanted the Elite profiles.

"Let's see..." Cortana looked at the vast amounts of data still left. If Green Heart had gotten here first, she really hadn't shown it. Most of the files were backed up, so it wasn't the end of the world after all.

All it took was one swift movement across the keyboard, then hitting enter, and all the data was transferred to her mind. Cortana certainly felt it, even though she probably could've held over a thousand times that amount of data, that was still a lot to take on all at once.

"Hey Cortana! You done?" Chief asked, having to raise his voice while blowing up another Fulgore. "We're running out of time!"

"Just hold on a little longer! The chopper should be here any minute!" Cortana shouted back. As if on cue, outside the main window to Ultratech's HQ, a chopper pulled up, with the doors opening automatically. "Now!" Cortana called out, as the whole group turned their heads and ran. Some Fulgores tried to cut out the middle man and go straight for the chopper, but Cortana camd prepared. Soon, the missiles were bouncing back off an invisible shield and striking them, causing large amounts of them to blow up, giving perfect cover to the group as they ran for the chopper.

As the group made it away, minus Jason Flemming, but with an unconscious Francis York Morgan, it gave them time to think back and reflect on what had happened. The team Green Heart had assembled was no joke, they had proven that with ease.

"Well, I guess it could've gone worse." Sam pointed out. "At least we're all alive."

"What about Jason?" Joanna reminded him. Sam looked around, and then realized Jason wasn't there. "Damn. I forgot about that hiccup. Still, at least we got one of our own." He reminded her, gesturing to Francis. "Still, we should try to get him back."

"Maybe we could swap?" Sam suggested. "Out of the question." Cortana cut in. "Vert won't be willing to negotiate with us. At all. Besides, we'd be putting ourselves at great risk if we did that."

"Probably. But did you see those guys? It didn't look like they had any loyalty or real connection to Vert." Chief pointed out.

"They don't. What are you suggesting?" Cortana asked. "Maybe we could get them to swap sides?" Cortana shook her head. "No. You guys on my side would be as loyal to me as they are to her. No chance of convincing them until all is said and done."

Jack Walters finally spoke up. "Well, about when all this is done, what are you gonna do with Green Heart?"

"I have to find out why she did this." Cortana replied. "It happened so suddenly too. I can't really see any reason for her to snap like that."

Jack said nothing. He could accept that Cortana wasn't trying to kill Vert, or at least that's what she said, but he just felt something was missing. Would there really be any reason for Vert to turn and snap like that? Given everything Cortana said, either they were missing a crucial piece of evidence, or Cortana wasn't telling them everything...

 _ **Author's Note**_

So the two sides interact once more, though it it would be fun and I guess I was right.

Balrog and Juri are not a pairing, just in case I get anyone asking, but they will interact more in future chapters. There were some fight scenes I kinda wanted to be longer, but with the amount of action going on I opted to downsize all around, just to try and keep them from being all the same.

Other than that, I hope I'll be able to have a more straightforward task next time as I do the Inkwell Hell chapter.

Until next time!


	23. Welcome to Inkwell Hell!

Saya and Irisu's rocky relationship appeared to be the only thing going on in the group worth noting. Other than that, Booker and Elizabeth tried to work out how they were still alive, Nemesis was his usual self, Gordon remained silent as per usual, and Naughty was...well...very creepy.

To be fair, he hadn't tried to hurt anyone so far, but he just looked a little off, no one really knew if he was mute or he just preferred not to talk, and also, he carried around a few weapons.

"We should be arriving at this place soon. From what I hear, it's supposed to be a real nuthouse." Booker spoke. "Keep your guards up."

"Grrrr..." Nemesis growled. He, for one, was clearly not concerned with what Booker's strategy was, though no one expected him to be obedient. It would present problems for the rest of their strategy though, with Nemesis already proving he probably liked to block bullets with his teeth and eyes.

Still, maybe he's surprise them? Saya didn't really have much to show for either. She didn't look at all intimidating, and wasn't proficient with any weapons, so it was a mystery why she was sent here of all places. The same thing was on everyone's mind, especially Irisu's, considering she actually knew what Saya's deal was.

Then again, no one was quite sure what Irisu's deal was either. Not even Irisu was entirely sure of what qualities she possessed to make her good enough to go on this particular mission.

So really, it only looked like Booker and Elizabeth would make it out alive assuming the Devil's armies came at them straight out of the gate. And given that they were the most normal of the bunch, well, at least in appearence, that was pretty damning. But still, they couldn't say that, especially when they hadn't even seen what Inkwell Hell could throw at them. Sure, Green Heart gave them a briefing and said it would be tough to break into Inkwell Hell, let alone kill the Devil first time, but she had assigned them to kill the Devil, and that was what they would set out to do.

"Alright." Booker stopped the group after some more walking, looking down a very steep cliff.

Inkwell Hell was...very surreal. The cartoonish nature of the whole place overshadowed an underlying creepiness around the area. The sky was black and red, intersting when you consider that the Elite had to travel underground to get to Inkwell. Aside from that, it seemed very typical for a place called hell, with all the fire and brimestone everywhere. Some people were cooking below in the furnaces of hellfire, but at the same time, no one was able to take any of it seriously due to the cartoonish nature of it all. Some may argue that would have made it more disturbing, but as far as the Elite were concerned, that was not the case.

At the center of the drawn to life inferno, was the boss' office. Yes, Inkwell was a business. A casino to be specific, where the stakes were high, but the risk was much higher. Run by the charismatic King Dice, he often coaxed unfortunate souls into bets which they couldn't repay, then went after their souls. It was indeed a very profitable business to be in.

The Devil's office was everthing you'd expect from an office belonging to someone as cartoonishly evil as him. Aside from the tacky green wallpaper with yellow designs here and there, he had a red mink carpet across the whole floor, with marble pillars in the four corners, chiseled with designs of demons in them.

His desk was rich mahogany, and he had a plaque with his name engraved. 'DEVIL' it read. His seat was actually a throne, with red velvet backing, and a gold rim, with spikes that were probably made from demons all around the edge. The throne was probably the most intimidating thing in the room, and with the Devil's skinny frame, it was easy to see most of it.

Speaking of the Devil, right now he was a little upset that the Elite had found their way to Inkwell Hell so soon. Word had come from one of his loyal subjects.

"Confound it Dice! Those blaggards weren't supposed to get here until tomorrow! Now how am I going to make time for practicing my victory speech?!" He ranted, slamming his fist against the desk. He was also chewing a cigar, occasionally puffing large clouds in the shape of angry faces or censored explitives with the smoke.

King Dice chuckled, raising his hands. "Now now, it's perfectly fine. Your minions have completed their training, giving you a near impenetrable fortress as your stronghold." He proclaimed. "For your sake, I hope you're right! That ARIA broad wanted a pretty penny for that!"

"With all due respect sir, you were the on who insisted I go ahead with it, now ain't that true?" King Dice countered. The Devil stopped, remembering that much was true, before King Dice continued. "Now sir, ARIA did have one request before I left."

"I'm not interested." He dismissed, flicking the ashes into an ashtray. He missed, also knocking the cigar out of his hands, and there was a dull hiss as the cigar was put out by the inkwell on his desk. The Devil tried to be professional and casually threw it into the trash basket next to him. "Anyway, you spend far too much time in that place anyway! If I didn't know any better I'd say you were warming up to her!"

King Dice feigned disappointment. "Oh? But all she requested was to see ya in the flesh. She's here right now!"

The Devil groaned in annoyance, but begrudgingly accepted. "Alright, send her in." King Dice happily obliged, running to the doors and opening them for Ultratech's robotic CEO, who herself was accompanied by two Fulgore units, as well as Spinal, and Gengetsu.

"Good evening, Mr. Devil." ARIA greeted. "That's me alright." He said, placing his elbows on his desk. "What is it you want? Can't you allow me a little more time to pay you for that training?"

"I'm not here about the training." ARIA responded. "I'm here to make a deal."

"I'm the king of making deals, go ahead." The Devil replied, taking out his chequebook. "That will not be necessary." ARIA explained. "What I propose is to not only wipe the cost of the training, but also to give you Gengetsu as an understudy to add to your defence, as well as Spinal offering his assistance."

The Devil mused. "I am tempted. But you wouldn't possibly offer so much for nothing."

"You're an excellent businessman, Mr. Devil. In return, Ultratech requests that you give us unrestricted access to Inkwell Hell and its facilities for future use in development of our technology."

The Devil thought. "How much control would I still have here?"

King Dice, who was standing away from the table, observed his boss. It was amazing how he could go from being the big baby that he was when things weren't going his way to the intelligent and calculated businessman he was when negotiating. The talking went on for a minute before the terms had been firmly laid out.

"So, Ultratech subsidies here can do as they please unless they assault or undermine Inkwell Hell, and in addition, we have readily available access to any Ultratech weapons developed using even only a trace of our materials. Just repeating it all to be clear."

ARIA nodded. "Do you have a contract we can sign?"

The Devil clicked his fingers and brought up a contract and a pen, surrounded in an ominous shade of red, like fire and brimstone had been used to make both. The Devil's signature was already at the bottom of the contract as ARIA moved to give her signature. She carefully checked the contract first, making sure the Devil didn't try any funny business and slip an extra condition in there somewhere.

Nothing. It all checked out, and ARIA signed, making the contract disappear in a poof of smoke.

"Thank you for your time." ARIA thanked the Devil, shaking his hands. "The pleasure was all mine!" He smirked. ARIA then, cold and emotionless as always, responded with "The pleasure was all mine."

ARIA then turned to leave. "Spinal, Gengetsu, you know what to do." The two nodded as the Fulgores followed ARIA out of the room.

When they were gone, the Devil spoke to the two. "Right, I want you two to stand outside for minute. Keep watch for those Elite, I don't want them anywhere near me." The two nodded. "Okay, Mr. Deville!" Gengetsu saluted. "Devil!" The Devil corrected her, pounding his fist against the desk. "It's Devil!" He fumed, again and again.

King Dice went over to his boss. As was clear, he had returned to his usual self, but it wouldn't take long for him to calm down, so long as he made no rash decisions. "Are ya happy with that sir?"

The Devil thought. "I suppose so. She's an oddball though, and I don't have a soft spot for oddballs!"

King Dice nodded. "She can be very odd, but a real dandy of a businesswoman. Lemme tell ya sir, the only other person I've ever seen with skills like that is you!"

"Yeah? Well I don't like that new fandangled modern technology either." The Devil spat. King Dice frowned. "With all due respect sir, ya seem awfully contrary today."

"I suppose you're right." He finally conceded. "That invasion really set me off-by the way, how is that going for them?"

"I couldn't tell ya sir. I was here the whole time, should I check for ya?" The Devil nodded.

King Dice stepped outside, only for Beppi the clown to run into him immediately and begin grovelling at his feet. "Please don't send me back out there! Pleasepleasepleaseplease don't make me fight that thing!" He bawled. King Dice was immediately concerned. Beppi was normally erratic, and his emotions could change with the direction of the wind, but for him to be this scared of fighting the Elite? Something had to be seriously wrong.

"Pull yourself together Beppi!" King Dice ordered, pulling the clown to his feet and slapping his balloon head. It burst, but another one inflated in its place. "Now, what's so bad about the Elite..." He was already looking to see what was going on. His eyes went wide seeing what Beppi had feared so much. He immediately turned back. "How many of those guys have gone down?" King Dice asked. "Almost all of us who had debts." Beppi managed to compose himself for the moment. "You said you were gonna keep the ones in your casino for last."

The casino manager nodded, remembering that. "Yes, I did. Wait here." He instructed, running back inside, past Spinal and Gengetsu, both wrapped up in their own thoughts. "Prepare to go after them!" He barked, snapping them both back into reality.

Walking back into the Devil's office, the man himself sat up with both his elbows on his desk to listen to the report. "Well?"

"I'm afraid everything's kinda gone south. Should I send those two after the invaders?"

The Devil didn't even bother to ask how bad it was out there, simply nodding.

"Alright you two, go and fight!" King Dice ordered. Spinal took off as fast as his boney legs could carry him towards the combat, while Gengetsu chose to think a little bit more.

She looked at all the options she had to fight with, and settled on one. The biggest challenge of all for many, but for Gengetsu, just some fun.

Naughty, Nemesis, Gordon, Booker and Elizabeth fended off the minions from the casino while Irisu seemed more than alarmed at the creature fighting next to her.

'Saya' was gone. The innocent looking girl wasn't there anymore, instead replaced by something far more foul and rotten.

It was a mix of pink and red, a giant unorganized pile of flesh with a giant eye in the middle as well as a few extremities that couldn't be identified. It looked and smelled foul, as well as making an awful squelching noise whenever it moved.

The giant flesh heap hauled itself forward, the rotting smell still fresh in the air as it continued to terrify and amaze all those who saw it, or smelled it.

Saya was sending back the armies of Inkwell Hell all by herself, and most of the time it was without even touching them, usually scarring them for life...or afterlife, if you wanted to be smart about it.

That was exactly the challenge Gengetsu wanted, someone fun to fight, and Saya looked as big and scary as they came.

When the first volley of bullets (not actual bullets, just something Gengetsu used for attacking) came down, Saya had no idea what hit her. The sheer surprise alone made her grotesque form cry out, as it was far too cumbersome to move out of the way.

Saya looked up and saw Gengetsu above her, far too high to reach. Her psychic attacks weren't working either, for whatever reason. As for Irisu, she could only stare in horror. Unless Saya had another trick up her sleeve to scar this minion too, then she wasn't going to last, and if Saya fell, then it was almost guaranteed that she...she would die too. Unless...unless...unless that..."

Saya reverted to her more human form, attempting to evade all the bullets more effectively, but it was like trying to dodge rain. The hailstorm of bullets crashed into her like it was raining bullets alright, bruising her all overwith no chance of a let up. Until of course, Nemesis fired a shot at Gengetsu with his rocket launcher, missing, but drawing her attention away from Saya, who desperately needed help. She couldn't stand, and it was a huge effort even to crawl over to some rocks where she could just rest against. Her eyes remained open though, and that meant she saw the skeleton walking towards her.

"Hmmm, what do we have here?" Spinal mused. "A chance for me to kill the beast that terrorized Inkwell Hell? I'll bring your head to ARIA on a silver platter!" He laughed, advancing towards the weakened Saya. But as he was walking over, something caught his eye. It was the rabbit girl. He couldn't remember her name, but she was a threat alright. With that look on her face as she slowly walked towards him with a bread roll that had a few nails sticking out of it, she must have been absolutely mad. But then again, so was he.

Spinal laughed maniacally as Irisu squared up to him, her hat now casting darkness over her face, except for her blood red eyes, as she brandished her unconventional weapon with the intent to kill. "Let's fight!" Spinal cried. Irisu let out a warped giggle before charging in as well.

The two weapons immediately collided, surprising Spinal as the bread didn't just fall apart immediately. It didn't even look scratched, actually looking perfectly fine.

His surprise didn't go unnoticed, as Irisu capitalized, swinging at the side of his skull before two quick jabs to the gut sent him backwards. Irisu wasn't letting up, so Spinal knew he had to recover quickly, and he did. The next swing was blocked by his shield, setting up a wide open attack for Spinal, only to be blocked by...a sock? To be fair, the sock looked like it was full of rocks and stuff to make it way harder, but the sock didn't even tear. Spinal had seen it, she wore that sock like an accessory, leaving it hang off the edge of her dress as opposed to putting it on her foot where it was probably better off. Then again, she would've been dead by now if she operated using grounded logic like that.

He had to be quick as Irisu then swung the bread again, blocking again with his shield. Irisu had now switched up her weapons so the sock was in her left and the bread in her right, good for beating the ever living crap out of someone. Particularly, Spinal.

Irisu swung the sock which Spinal ducked to avoid, and then retalliated with his own swing, blocked once again by the bread, before Spinal was hit in the head with the sock, knocking him back as Irisu continued to attack rapidly, swinging the sock like a mace, while using the bread like a bat. A criss cross attack backed up Spinal to a rock, where Irisu continued to be merciless in her assault, coming close to cracking some of Spinal's ribs.

But the skeleton was able to rescue himself, using his shield to bash Irisu's face, knocking her hat off and the bread out of her right hand. In addition, Spinal could see more red as her nose began to bleed, not that she seemed to care too deeply. Spinal swung his sword again, blocked by the sock again, then another swing which was cut out by Irisu choosing to attack Spinal's upper torso, causing him to stop mid-slash.

She then hit him in the head a few times more, knocking him back enough for her to reclaim her hat and bread, switching back to two handed combat as she put her hat back on.

Spinal laughed it all up, enjoying the good fight, knowing he wasn't gonna give up so easily.

Irisu swung the rock filled sock again, this time blocked by the shield as a surprise attack from Spinal came dangerously close to her head, missing by just a few inches. But did it faze Irisu? No. She just kept on fighting, swinging the bread without much success as Spinal was learning to avoid her attacks. Irisu was enjoying it every bit as much as Spinal, completely deranged as he was.

Then, Irisu tried to swing from the side with her sock, only to catch Spinal's shield. Then she tried to jab him with her bread stick, and that was where the fight ended.

Spinal was simply too quick, beating her to the punch and stabbing her through the gut. Her face became visible, and her eyes returned to normal, wide in horror and pain as she already knew what had happened. Blood began to cover Spinal's sword as he retracted it, and Iirsu slowly fell to her knees. It wasn't so much the pain as just the sudden shock of being stabbed that got to her, and made it so that she fell with such little resistance.

Spinal, on the other hand, was living it up. He wasted no time, having to make sure this one didn't come back, so maybe then Ultratech would give him back that mask. He rushed in, sword raised high, and swung for her head, finally connecting with-nothing?!

"Oh, sorry to disappoint ya there old buddy!" Spinal turned to see-Cinder? He was the one holding the sword from going into her skull? "Eh?!" Spinal was baffled. "Yeah, turns out I don't like it when people stab me in the back. So here's the deal." He explained, punching Spinal in the gut and throwing him away from Irisu. "I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure A-bitch regrets dumping me on my ass, and that means stopping you."

"But you won't even let me have the mask? Not even to kill one of them?!" Spinal protested, feeling his chances of getting his coveted kill slipping away through his fingers. Cinder was already charging up an attack as he thought of his response.

"Let's see...no." He answered, letting rip with a blast of flames aimed at Spinal, weakening the skeleton to the point where he could no longer stand up. He simply collapsed, still holding onto his sword and shield, but Cinder knew all too well that Spinal was down.

"Spiney!" Gengetsu cried, racing through the air to reach Spinal and pick him up.

"Shit, that's my cue to skedaddle the fuck out of here!" Cinder realized, racing as far away from the scene as he could. Gengetsu was a second too late though, as Nemesis fired a shot from his rocket launcher, nailing the demon in the back and sending her crashing to the ground. It was far too little to kill her, but she was clearly hurt. Booker and Elizabeth were just behind him too, having gotten rid of Dice's cronies.

"Hold it!" Booker called out, having a shotgun trained on Gengetsu as he slowly advanced towards her. "Don't get any ideas! You're coming with us!" Gengetsu stuck her tongue out, making Booker come very close to squeezing the trigger. "Don't test me, young lady." Booker warned. "Make me!" Gengetsu pouted. "You gotta be kidding me." Booker looked to the heavens. "Kid, I will blow your brains out if you don't do exactly what I tell you to."

Then, that was when the puff of smoke appeared. "Oh?" King Dice looked shocked, though he knew exactly what he was doing.

The Elite were equally as shocked, seeing the die headed cartoon man appear out of nowhere. "I must say, ya did a swell job of showing us where all the holes are in our defences."

Booker said nothing, and aimed his shotgun at Dice, who raised his arms. "You work directly for the Devil?" He asked. "Sure do." Dice nodded. "Now, can ya take the firearm outta my face?"

"I wanna see your boss first." King Dice laughed. "I'm afraid the boss doesn't talk any old angry man off the street, especially on a busy day." King Dice explained, trying to make himself sound sincere despite the fact that no one would believe him in a million years.

The rest of the Elite had one eye on Gengetsu and Spinal, making sure neither of them made a break for it unexpectedly.

"We have business with your damn boss!" Booker fumed. "I know, but I don't believe that'd be good for him. He needs a break."

Elizabeth spoke up. "How about giving us those two? Then we'll leave without another word."

"Elizabeth!" Booker hissed.

King Dice paused. "Well, I have to say that's a clever plan. A good deal too, yes, a mighty fine deal. Just let me fish out something in this here pocket, might make them two more agreeable to that trade."

Already every single one of the Elite standing was on high alert, fully aware that King Dice was up to something.

He pulled out...a grenade?! Tossing it, no one had time to shield their eyes and ears, as it was a flashbang grenade. All of them felt like they were having shards of glass stuck in their ears, and their vision wasn't getting restored straight away either.

When it did come back, as predicted, all three were gone. "Damn it!" Booker cursed. "We'll just have to find him ourselves." He then started to move on, but stopped when Elizabeth grabbed him. "Booker, you can't be serious." Elizabeth whispered. "What do you mean? Of course I'm serious. What else would we do?" Elizabeth had no doubt in her mind. "We need to go back to Leanbox." Booker blinked, shocked at the suggestion. "Excuse me?"

"Booker, it's not an option-" "Elizabeth, this guy is a nutjob, worse than Comstock ever was! Now we get the chance to kill him and you wanna turn back?!" He couldn't believe Elizabeth had the audacity to make a suggestion like that.

"Booker, look." She got him to turn long enough to look at the rest of the Elite. That left his jaw hanging open in mid-rant. A badly bruised Saya, with her skin almost purple from all the bruises she had received, a stabbed and bleeding Irisu, struggling to stay upright, and Naughty Bear. How had he not noticed? Naughty was looking incredibly glum, as he held in his hand...his left arm. It had been torn off after the stack of poker chips King Dice employed fell on top of it, ripping it off as they rolled away. At least they were able to recover the arm anyway, so there was hope. Even Gordon looked shocked by Booker's outburst, and for him to show emotion was like a cold day in hell.

Booker went quiet. "I know you're mad. I wish we got there too. But these guys...they're not normal, but they have limits."

He was starting to feel guilt, but he knew he had to speak. It wouldn't have been right to be silent.

"I...I'm sorry you all had to see that. That was awfully...inconsiderate." He was trying his best to aplogize, but it was clear he wasn't experienced. "We'll go back to Leanbox and get you all patched up. I'll carry one of you if you want." He finally finished the apology, and then said the last part to Saya and Irisu.

"rrrrr..." Nemesis growled defensively, picking up Saya and Irisu, showing how giant he was as he slung one over each shoulder and followed Gordon as he lead the way back. Booker, Elizabeth and Naughty all followed, with the former two standing either side of Naughty, ready to help if he needed it. As far as Booker was concerned, it wasn't much, but it was the least he could do on the long trip back to Leanbox.

* * *

Gargos was getting tired of none of his missions yielding any success. "To think, all this effort for nothing." He grumbled. "Master, an Omen has returned." He was informed.

"It had better be good. Does he come with good news?" Gargos asked.

"Well..." The Omen he was speaking to began to giggle. "M-my Lord, I'm afraid th-th-tha...ahaAHAHAHAHAHA!" The Omen couldn't take it anymore, bursting out into a fit of laughter which was soon echoed by all the Omens around him.

Gargos' bitterness turned to confusion. "What could possibly be so funny?!" He demanded. Normally his voice would've stopped any laughter, but this time none of the Omens stopped laughing.

"My-my Lord, I...I come with news." It was the Omen who Gargos had sent to Ultratech. "Oh, it's you. I hope you have brought to me..."

Gargos could now see why they were laughing.

The Omen standing before him, his messenger, was dressed from head to toe like Gengetsu. Gargos was speechless. He even had a wig.

"I have...I have come to renounce my faith! I serve only...Lady Gengetsu..." His voice drifted off as more laughter came from the Omens.

"And so I chal-" "Enough." Gargos stopped him. "...pardon?"

"Leave. I give you permission to do so." Gargos sighed. "Whatever has happened to you, it is clear nothing I could do would bring you any more suffering. Leave."

Without another word, the Omen, now Gengetsu's Omen, left Gargos' realm. The laughing went on for a bit, before eventually dying down, leaving Gargos in silence once again. The warlord put his head in his hands, struggling to come up with any rational explanation for what he had just seen.

"Maybe I'll give up and just have a rest for all eternity..." He pondered.

"My Lord, I bring news." Gargos was about to explode into a rant about 'news', but the voice caught his attention. He had heard it before, though he wasn't expecting to hear it now, in this place as well. The language too, it was Thai, which made it more obvious.

"Sadira?" He looked up, and sure it was. The Spider Queen, ex-Ultratech operative, stood before him. "I thought you were loyal to Ultratech."

"I was. ARIA decided I was untrustworthy and released me." Sadira explained. "Well, I take it you have come to pledge your alligiance to me."

"Yes My Lord." She nodded. "There is no need. I know already I can depend on you, and I know already some of the challenges which my invasion would face." He explained. "Not all though, I will still have much use for you."

"It is my honour to be of service. What can I do?" Gargos mused. "Well, you can start by telling me everything that has happened since my last failed invasion."

So Sadira explained everything, the Elite, Ultratech's new allies, the new worlds, everything she knew. With that Gargos was much more well informed.

"Was I helpful?" Sadira asked. Gargos nodded. "There was some of it I knew already, but much I have learned also. Two factions fighting against each other as well?" Sadira nodded.

"I see." A smile began to form on his face. "So it wasn't only the people Jago was with...there were more." His smile only grew larger. "Ohohohoho, yes. Yes, this all works out swimmingly. All I need is overwhelming force in one quick burst."

"Looks like you have enough soldiers. But what about forcing them all through that tiny gap?" She asked, looking to the portal to Ultratech City. Gargos' smile faded. "Yes, you present a valid arguement. I'll have to find more power. Tell me, have you seen that level of power at Ultratech?" Sadira thought. "Well, there was a doctor with his machines, but he's too weak. There was an old man who talked about an artifact strong enough to tear through reality though."

Gargos rubbed his hands together. "Excellent! We can just take that off him and use it to invade the entire realm!"

"He doesn't have it." Gargos stopped. "What?"

"He also doesn't know where it is of who has it." Sadira added. "But if that's all true, then how do you know it's real? I assume he presented some proof at least."

"Yes. He showed me and others some video of it in action. It would be more than worth any effort for you to get it." Sadira answered. "Well," Gargos responded. "I don't regard that as too comforting, but I do trust you. So I'll set my sights on obtaining this object!"

"I heard that some of the Elite know about it too." Sadira added. "Well then, I'll just listen through Jago!" Gargos began to laugh.

"All it'll take is one of those maggots to blurt out everything, and this realm will be mine!"

 _ **Author's Note**_

Finally got to Inkwell Hell. I enjoyed writing the Devil, though I'm not sure if I nailed his in game personality, so let me know about that. I'm more happy with the fight here than in other chapters I have to say, I liked the fight.

Cinder will be back in future chapters, and I'll explain how ARIA avoided the whole fight, or rather, _why_ she avoided the fight.

Gargos wasn't supposed to be here, but a joke got out of hand and well...here it all is.

Thanks for reading, and until next time!


	24. The Lord of Games

It was easy to tell you were the good guys most of the time, because you usually had better morals than the other side. While that might have been true, it was as if the group sent to tackle the Lord of Games was seeing how disfunctional and misguided you could be and still call yourselves heroes. Shovel Knight was the most straight forward hero of the group, someone actually deserving of the title. Kasumi and Ryu Hayabusa were not only heroes, but also had good chemistry, so that was another plus. Dovahkiin had done some questionable things before, but she was still fairly heroic. Death's Hand had a past he wanted to put behind him, but still had good intentions, Rick Taylor was a good man too, but the mask on his face suggested otherwise, Alex Mercer was...well, the first really villainous member of the group. Not like he was pure evil, but he liked to play with the power he had. Doomguy was just... Doomguy, then there was the Jack of Blades, who was a straight up villain.

But even with just a few members that were in the morally grey area, the real problem was when the group fought. When the group fought, they fought long and hard, and with no sign of ever admitting they were wrong.

They had argued a lot on the way there, and had stopped a few times to argue as well. As far as Ryu Hayabusa was concerned, working with children on this mission would have been easier.

What they were told to do was go to a place called Spiral Mountain, where the L.O.G. supposedly had a factory where he used to producd games, but now was shrouded in mystery as to whether or not it was in use. Ultratech wouldn't have needed another factory, so it was unlikely they would be using it, but the L.O.G. wouldn't have had much use for it either. As far as they knew, he was by far the most self-centred and narcissistic of the group, having his own title, and most of his effort being reserved for his own personal glory rather than actually helping his allies.

"So, as far as we know, he is by far the most self-centred and narcissistic of the group, having his own title, and most of his effort being reserved for his own personal glory rather than helping his allies?" Kasumi asked.

"It would appear so. If that much is true, then it would make sense for Cortana to send us after him first, so the rest become weaker." Ryu answered.

"It's an alright plan, but I have to ask one thing." Ryu turned to Alex Mercer, half curious and half expecting a smart remark. "I'm just saying, if that guy really is that big of an asshole, which I can totally see him being, then I don't think they'll miss him."

Ryu shrugged. To be fair, it was a good point. "Well, either way it's one less threat for us to worry about." He responded.

Though it did make the group wonder. How were relations between the L.O.G. and his team?

* * *

While she couldn't speak for everyone, Mictecacihuatl didn't like having to talk with the Lord of Games. She doubted that anyone really did. He was powerful though, and that was what earned him a place in the villains team, despite being an utter nightmare to work with. But here she was, in his factory, talking to him about the Elite, and what to do if-no, when they attacked. "All I'm saying is that one or two guards might be a good idea for when they come..." She protested. "Are you dour?" He asked, highly offended. "Those Elite will only need me to tear their heads from their necks!" He boasted.

"I'm telling you, that based on what we know that may not be the case." She tried to reason, but he was having none of it. "I will handle this in a graceful manner as per usual." He wasn't a mind reader, but he could tell a lot from her facial expressions. "It appears as though I have not convinced you of my ability." He observed. "I think you're over-confident." The undead woman corrected him. "If I hadn't that level of power which I boast of, do you think I would still be be here?"

"But this is-" "Hush now! I am growing tired of this little charade..." He gestured with his hand out. "Now, find somewhere else to make a nuisance of yourself."

The Lady of the Dead wanted to protest further, but she could see that she was getting nowhere with him. Without another word, she turned and left, the L.O.G. doing nothing to stop her either. She had no respect for him at this point, and it was clear he had no respect for anyone other than himself. Maybe it would be better if he was killed after all.

* * *

It took them a short while, but the Elite made it to the factory. There was an old sign outside the building, covered in dust. "Looks like we're here." Doomguy noticed.

Dovahkiin dusted off the the sign. 'Welcome to the Game Factory!' it read. "Pretty generic." Alex commented. For once, no one argued with him. "Yeah, nothing here about any of the games being made. But it's the Game Factory!" Rick commented.

"I would assume he had a monopoly on this market then, if his branding is so generic." The Jack said. "I think I'll have to remind him of his place."

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself." Death's Hand warned. "He might be vain, but our opponent is not inept. I have no doubt in my mind that he will challenge us all, as a group."

Going into the factory, they could see that it was pretty much abandoned. At least, that's the way it seemed. A red carpet that would have been suited to kings and queens was rolled out from the back of the factory to the entrance, leading up to the only other item in the factory, a throne. On that throne, sat the Lord of Games. His purple robe covering his incredibly skinny frame, and a crown resting on top of his head.

He used a tendril to take the crown off his head and place it carefully on the throne when he saw the Elite enter, and he stood up too.

"Alright you little cocksucker, how's about you drop the whole God complex thing and come with us?" Terror Mask asked right off the bat. The Lord of Games gasped. "I cannot believe I am hearing such language being directed at me! Apologize at once!" Rick and the Terror Mask were both in agreement as Rick rolled his eyes, that this dude was gonna be a handful no matter what happened.

"I think our position is very clear regardless of what language we use." Ryu threatened. "Surrender, or fight us all at once. We shall bring you to your knees."

The Lord of Games sneered. "Yes, and how exactly do you intend to do that?"

"We'll shut that mouth of yours for a start." Dovahkiin suggested. "Then we'll just beat you senseless and take you back to Cortana. That is, _if_ you survive this fight." He was highly offended by the last bit of sass from Dovahkiin, starting to get angry that someone would show him that level of disrespect.

"Well," He huffed. "I never!" He was already getting ready to attack as he grew in size to be about twenty feet tall, with the tendrils remaining the same size, but becoming far more numerous. "I'll teach you what it means to be a true God!"

The tendrils all shot at the group at once, leaving Alex Mercer to launch himself at them, turning his arm into a biomass shield, blocking most of them, leaving Death's Hand and the Jack to slice up any of them that came too close for comfort. "Now, move forward!" Death's Hand ordered, as Ryu, Kasumi, Shovel Knight, Dovahkiin, Doomguy and Rick all moved on, only for a second barrage of tendrils to make its way towards the group, surprising then all. Ryu and Kasumi sliced through most of them while Doomguy fired his minigun to obliterate the remaining ones.

"Hey, I thought you guys took care of all those tentacles!" Terror Mask shouted back. "Tendrils!" Death's Hand corrected him. "And yes, we did!"

"Then what's going on?!" Rick demanded, before looking back to the Lord of Games. The severed tendrils disappeared back under his robe and seconds later re-emerged as fully formed tendrils again. "So he can heal..." Ryu noted. "Attacking the tendrils is useless then. We must get to the body and cut them off at the root."

Doomguy decided to test that hypothesis, rushing in with a chainsaw to the newly formed gap swinging wildly.

"Don't!" Dovahkiin warned him, but it was too late as another tendril wrapped itself around his foot and threw him back, narrowly missing Alex Mercer. "He's clearly going to protect his weak spots, so we cannot just rush in and hope for the best!"

Dovahkiin readied her shout, yelling "Fus ro DAH!" At L.O.G., creating an opening for the Jack of Blades to fire energy projectiles from afar. The Jack fired, but too quickly, his tendrils were back to block the shot and launching a counterattack. The Jack showed no fear though, standing his ground and slicing up every tendril before launching another enemey. Death's Hand tried get in for a slash at his weak spot, but finding nothing but more tendrils had appeared to block the way forward. They didn't attack though, instead, they shielded his vulnerable area from attack, creating further problems for the two sword wielders.

Kasumi and Ryu were having problems of their own as they struggled to fight off all the tendrils at once, with the amount always teetering on the edge.

The L.O.G. had his head high above the action, looking down on the Elite like the peasants they were in his eyes. Shovel Knight was always small, but from here he looked miniscule, like a giant looking down on a dwarf.

He used his unconventional weapon to slice through the tendrils, never stopping to rest. The L.O.G. wondered. Maybe if he were to sweep him off his feet...

Shovel Knight looked and saw a tendril sweeping across the ground just in time, and jumped to avoid it, narrowly doing so. He decided to make sure it didn't cause any more problems for the time being by then Shovel Dropping onto it. To his own surprise, Shovel Knight bounced off, high into the air.

So they could be bounced off like that? Well, maybe then...hmmm. A plan began to formulate in his head. It was dangerous, but, there was a small chance that...yes...

Alex blocked another tendril, though this one felt really powerful against his biomass shield, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out. The L.O.G. was putting a lot of effort in, he could feel it, but maybe if he just held out a little longer...

"YEOW!" The L.O.G. recoiled for a second as a green energy shot hit his face. "You!" He growled at the Jack of Blades, with it being obvious that he fired the shot. "Yes?" He responded, cool as you like. "I'll kill you, you arrogant fool!"

But he was only injured further as Doomguy came up from behind him and started firing his minigun into the L.O.G., forcing him to turn.

So, his head was still vulnerable? He should have guessed. For one small adventurer, that was everything he needed to know. Shovel Knight found himself trying to jump in, attempting to use the L.O.G.'s best defence against him. The tendrils were now stepping stones for Shovel Knight, using Shovel Drop to skip across them and rise higher, coming closer to the head. More tendrils shot out, trying to knock him down off of where he was, but Shovel Knight used the phase locket, letting the attacks all go through him, and providing him with more springboards to go even further, coming closer to the head with every Shovel Drop until the attack was launched. Shovel Knight had reached the head, and had jumped off the last tendril, leaping into the air as the L.O.G. tried to answer with an attack of his own. The tendril missed, thankfully for Shovel Knight, who got a swing at him and connected perfectly.

The grand creator hissed in pain and retracted many of his tendrils in shock, a huge mistake. Kasumi looked to Ryu for only a brief second, seeing that there was more than enough space for someone to pass between the tendrils and make it to the head, and the two took off. Even when he lashed out in confusion and anger, he couldn't hit Ryu, with all his attempts at attacking missing. Now it was Ryu's turn to go for the head, jumping with the Dragon Sword held in a position for him to stab, and that was exactly what he did. As soon as he was close enough, Ryu plunged his blade into the factory owner's screen, causing him to cry out in severe pain as more tendrils retracted. Ryu looked down and saw that Rick was moving into the space where the tendrils once were, now able to grab him by his base. Ryu quickly jumped off the top and watched as Rick grabbed the Lord of Games with ease and began to spin him around. He was still pretty tall, so the Elite had to be careful they weren't hit by him. Rick finally released, letting the computer monitor headed man crash into the nearest wall, surely dealing enough damage to finish the fight.

"Bah!" The L.O.G. spat. "This is an outrage! An absolute outrage! I will not stand for this level of insult, you will hear from my armies about this!" He continued. "Yeah, yeah, we know. Now can you shut the fuck up?" Terror Mask asked.

"You swine! I'll crush you for that! I'll make sure you-" He was cut off as Shovel Knight bonked him over the head with his shovel blade, putting the L.O.G. to sleep for a short while.

"Thanks manlet." Terror Mask thanked Shovel Knight, though it felt like more of a put down. "I would prefer to be referred to by my title, thank you." Shovel Knight replied. "Still. A hard fought victory is better than a defeat."

"Indeed. We showed excellent ability in that fight. It proves we can work together." Death's Hand noted.

The Jack of Blades and Doomguy were chosen to carry home the L.O.G., on the long walk home, which began almost straight away as they all wanted to get back quickly.

"Hey, Mask." Alex called out. Rick turned around. "Are you talkin' to me or him?" Terror Mask asked. "Both." Alex answered. "I just wanted to say that you did good today. Made taking him down way easier." Alex explained. "Well don't-" Rick hit the Mask, cutting it off mid-setence. To be fair, it was hard to tell if Alex was genuine or not, but for him to offer a complement seemed woefully out of character.

"Eh, I guess you're alright too." Rick replied. "Good job."

Dovahkiin had gone over to Shovel Knight as well, interested to continue talking.

"I know some people may underestimate you for your size, but the way you fought was commendable." She began. "Thank you. But I must assure you, I need no thanks, as that is my job." He replied.

They were quiet for a small while, before she opened up the conversation again. "I know you may say this is hopeful, but I feel that our prisoner may know where your partner is." Shovel Knight looked to her. "Do you really think so?" Dovahkiin nodded. "I suppose he may, if he knows anything at all." Shovel Knight began to think about it. "Though surely he wouldn't say that. He won't talk."

Dovahkiin paused. He had a point, but it wasn't like he'd never talk. "I think Cortana will have her methods for making him talk." She replied. "Well, I can only hope you're right." He replied.

Kasumi and Ryu had the advantage of already knowing each other, but now they had also had the chance to get to know their teammates too.

"Looks like this was the real deal. I was a little doubtful at first, but...wow. These guys could definitely compete in Dead or Alive."

Ryu nodded. "That is so. But we cannot allow our guards to drop." Kasumi raised an eyebrow. "Do you still think something's up?" Kasumi asked. "Well, not necessarily. But at the same time, I would worry for anything at this point. Though we've had our first victory, we will need to have many more if we're to get anywhere in this war."

"Well...I guess you have a point." Kasumi accepted. Ryu was a bit of a killjoy though, even with Kasumi knowing him for so long, she couldn't help but feel that. "But don't you think that we can trust these guys a little more?" She asked.

"Maybe." Kasumi would've argued further, but she figured there would be little point. Ryu would come around eventually, and learn to trust them.

They were all kind of like that, come to think of it. They just needed time.

Death's Hand walked over to the Jack of Blades, who already knew what was going to be said.

"I'm satisfied with dethroning this cretin, nothing more, nothing less!" He barked, hoping to discourage any talk of teamwork and bonding.

Clearly some needed more time than others.

* * *

"H-h-hey Reimu, I was uh...are you okay, cause I was just, uh...wondering." Marisa asked, eyes shifting left and right like she was watching a tennis match and hands shaking like she had Parkinson's disease.

Marisa, in truth, had been unable to calm her nerves. Even the most simple of exchanges became excruciating ordeals, where Marisa was always overthinking. What should she say to Reimu? How should she say it? When should she say it? Was she talking to her too often?

She had no idea what to do, and she could only hope Reimu didn't smell anything fishy.

"Um...fine, I guess." Reimu sighed, rubbing the back of her head. "You know how it is. I kinda just can't believe Keine is...y'know." Marisa nodded, not wanting to respond with words. "Still, I appreciate you checking up on me like that. Thanks Marisa."

The young witch's heart skipped a beat as she began to smile, and get a small rush of blood to her cheeks. "Th-thanks! Anything for you!" She replied with enthusiasm. "You seem a little more upbeat than usual." Reimu noted. Marisa's smile was gone, replaced with a look of surprise and worry. "Uhhhh...huh?" was all Marisa could say.

"I don't mean that as a bad thing!" Reimu quickly added, seeing how Marisa could misinterpret that easily. "I just notice things about you more, since you're at the shrine so often."

"GRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAA!"

A loud series of screams accompanied by the sound of wood being smashed rang throughout the shelter, making the two jump.

"Wait, what happened?!" Reimu looked around frantically, seeing that the undead had surrounded the base and were breaking in from all sides. "They must've followed us back from the village!" The Terrarian suggested, rushing to get his sword.

Steve, Terrarian, Cole, Reimu, Marisa, Richtofen, Tank, Nikolai, Takeo, Monika, Hieda, Kosuzu and of course, Madotsuki. Them, and around 100 other people trapped in the shelter, as zombies tried to claw in from all sides. The villagers inside were already starting to panic, and as the four veteran zombie killers opened fire on the hordes. The undead weren't being slowed by much though, packing huge strength in numbers. Every time a zombie got shot through the head, it seemed like three more would take its place and tear down more of the shelter.

"It's alright, stay calm!" Cole ordered the civillians, hoping their panic wouldn't manifest into hasty actions. "How are we meant to be calm?!" One man cried back. "I know the situation is bad, but losing your cool will only make it worse!" Cole shot back.

"Uhh..." Madotsuki made a sound that seemed to be a whimper. But it wasn't. Cole watched her, as she began to make more noises and stumble around, trying to hold her head. Was her head alright?

Cole rushed over to her. "Madotsuki, are you alright?!" He asked. That was when a a black...portal? Yeah, that's what it looked like anyway, a black portal, appeared behind her. Cole, for whatever reason, didn't move out of the way. It was kind of closed at the moment, though it looked like it was trying to open up, as if something inside was ready to burst out, and something told Cole that whatever came out would be hostile.

The portal opened, revealing a giant...it was a cat. Or rather, a cat's head on a long red scaly body, and it was heading for the door. Rather than just bursting through the door at full speed though, the creature phased through the door and began to swim through the hordes.

"What the hell was that?" The Terrarian asked, looking back to Madotsuki. "Whatever it is, it's working. Look!" Reimu pointed out the the gaps, as the creature was killing the zombies by just going through them. The hundreds that had piled up against the walls were now all dead again, with not a single one in sight, and all the screaming from both humans and undead dying down.

But the creature was not done, swimming through the air in front of the shelter one last time, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Behind the Elite, Madotsuki collapsed, going back to sleep. Cole was the first to react, making sure she was alright, checking her pulse. "Is the child alright?" Takeo asked. "She's just asleep. But now we have questions." Cole answered. "Like obviously, what the hell was that thing?"

"Ain't ever seen anything like that before." Tank said, throwing his hands in the air. "Neither have I." Terrarian added. "Okay, I think it's safe to say no one has seen anything like that before." Cole confirmed. "So how did it get here?"

"It is obvious to me that Green Heart should know what it is." Richtofen suggested. "Given how much she already knows."

Monika seemed to be the only other one with an idea as to where it came from. "Wait..." She thought. "I saw that girl controlling it." They all thought back. Now that she mentioned it, it made a lot of sense, all the stuff she was doing before, during and after it had appeared, complete with collapsing from sheer exhaustion at the end.

"You might have a point there...I mean, now that I think about it, she seemed to be trying to summon that thing for a while. So...this is just something she can do?"

Monika shrugged. "My guess is as good as any."

Cole nodded. "So it seems. Either way, that's not the only question I want her to answer..."

 ** _Author's Note_**

So this chapter was a little shorter than the past few, but I'm happy that I managed to hit 4k at least. Next chapter will probably be much longer.

The L.O.G. is captured, and now the Elite on both sides have completed their first objectives, so the first round is done, and of course, it appears Madotsuki has some abilities no one knew about. Green Heart's gonna have a few questions to answer, that's for sure.

Other than that, there's not a lot I can say until next time. Thanks for reading!


	25. Day Off Pt1

The Lord of Games found himself behind bars, in a very basic cell within Cortana's facility. He had no way of being contacted by the other villains, who at this point might as well have just pronounced him dead, and now Cortana was pressing for information.

The cell was made from metals which Cortana herself had researched extensively in order to make, strong enough to hold any of the Elite. Speaking of her, she was on the other side.

"Let's talk." The AI suggested. Though, it wasn't a suggestion, but rather, an order. The L.O.G. was adamant not to do that. He simply raised his nose at it all. "You think you'll press me for information so easily?"

"I have my ways." Cortana replied. "But I honestly don't see what you'll lose if you tell me what's going on."

"It isn't in my best interests to talk with those who lock me away and threaten me." He argued. Cortana sighed as she realized he did have something to lose. His pride. "Right." Cortana was already calling for the methods she knew would make him talk. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

It was Master Chief who approached Isaac Clarke, as he sat at a table by himself. Chief took a seat opposite him. "Hey Clarke." Chief greeted. "Hey. Is there something I can do?" He asked. Chief nodded. "Yeah, I was hoping you'd be able to answer questions about the Playstation All-Stars you were with."

Isaac paused. "Sure. But where do I begin?"

"Just start from the beginning, and tell me what you know."

Isaac shrugged. "Well, I can't remember everything, but it was sort of like this. A group of heroes and villains teaming up to stop a threat from taking over their world."

"So what was the threat?" Chief asked. "It was a guy called Polygon Man. He gathered up a team of villains and tried to get rid of us so he could focus on world domination." Isaac explained. "Of course, we won, and not long after we won, I was told I was wanted here by someone called Cortana. So I came here looking for her, and well, here I am."

Chief paused. So that story wasn't as informative as he had hoped it would be. He was a little disappointed, but not overly upset. There were still questions he could ask.

"What else can you tell me? How many of you were there?" Isaac laughed. "Would you believe more than here? Over seventy."

Chief didn't find that too hard to believe, as it wasn't that much more than Cortana had shown him were on both sides of the Elite put together.

"We were a pretty diverse team too. There was a guy called Radec, and I remember he was always really cold. He was a military commander on a foreign planet from a species that evolved from humans, and he was more vicious than anyone I ever knew. Then there was a young teen girl, Pupuru, who was like a sorceress or something, with a fantasy getup and a weird pet. She was really sweet, and believe it or not, she actually had feelings for Radec."

He listed a few more members, like a hedgehog named Shadow, a raccoon called Sly, and his 'rival' that he was assigned, a robot called X. Though Clarke soon got to the most important name.

"Ken Kutaragi." Isaac began. "He was the mastermind behind it all. He was like our Cortana."

Chief was getting somewhere now. "So what did he look like?"

"He was an Japanese guy, about this high, always wore a suit, glowed blue like Cortana." Isaac tried to visualize the whole thing, not having much success. "So he was an AI." Chief thought. "No." Isaac shook his head. "He was a real person alright. But he used the hologram to enter our world."

Chief understood, having learned, like the rest of the Elite, that they existed in worlds which were like video games. It didn't bother him too much, but it did make him curious as to what life was like outside the screen.

"He was a great guy anyway. Really knew how to get the best out of his team." Isaac then began to get up. "Well, I gotta go. Hope I was able to help in some way."

"Thanks. You were." Chief replied, walking off in his own direction. He had some of his questions answered, but then he remembered. "Oh, one more thing!" He called out to Isaac, who turned around to listen. "Yeah?"

"Did this guy, Kutaragi ever talk about other people like him? Like Cortana."

Isaac paused. "He talked about Cortana to me, but not to anyone else. Aside from that, he said there were other worlds like Playstation, though he didn't mention any names or numbers as to how many there were."

Chief thought about it before replying. "Ah. I'll just have to ask Cortana about it then. Thanks for your help."

Chief didn't have long to walk before he ran into Cortana, who had just left the part of the complex housing the prison cells. "Cortana! I wanna just ask one question."

"Can it wait? I just got some information out of our guest." Cortana cut across him. "That guy? I thought he'd never talk." Cortana smirked. "Then clearly you underestimate me. Anyway, it's pretty important, and I'd like to relay it to you. So can your question wait?"

Chief paused. Was his question really urgent? Well, if what Cortana was saying was true, and it likely was, then Chief's question could wait.

"Tell me what you found out."

* * *

Having made a miraculous recovery from the assault launched by Marius Titus, Leanbox was up and running again. Good too, because it was a marvellous place. The cutting edge architecture along with the gorgeous weather made it feel like a place like nowhere else on earth.

But still, today was kind of slow. That was the first thought running through Saya's head as she walked around Leanbox aimlessly, looking for anything to kill the time. Only Irisu and Naughty had seen her true form in Inkwell, with Booker, Elizabeth and Gordon all preferring to focus on their own obstacles.

That reminded her of something, now that she thought of it. Her non-human characteristics allowed her to recover faster from her injuries than the others. Naughty had his arm sewn back on, so he was fine too, but that left Irisu. Despite her...outburst, she was still human, so when Spinal stabbed her in the gut like that, it had possibly life threatening implications for her. Thankfully Team Fortress' Medic was on hand to help, and he had said that Irisu would be good as new in no time. Of course, Saya didn't believe him at all, so she was totally gonna check out what was going on.

It took her a little while to walk back to the Basillicom, where Irisu was kept for more security, and it took her a little longer to find the room, but eventually she did. Walking inside, she saw...nothing? She must have been cleared already, so that could only leave one place.

The CPU hotel was usually reserved for guests of honour in Leanbox, and I guess you could say that, yes the Elite were guests of honour, but it felt weird saying that. Even then, they had planned to stay in the Basillicom, until the attack from Cortana gave them other ideas. Anyway, Saya knew which room Irisu kept, and that the room was usually unlocked, partially because Irisu usually didn't lock, but also because no one wanted to have to bust down the door in the event of her starting to bleed again, or overdosing on cough medicene.

Openeing the door revealed a dark and stuffy place, thanks to the curtains being closed. Some light crept in underneath, but that was about it. The kitchen and living area looked like they had never been used, but once Saya arrived in the corner of the room where the bed was, signs of life began to show up. By that, she meant she had just knocked over an empty bottle of cough medicene. "Hello?" She called out. "Irisu? Are you there?"

No response. "Well...might as well open these..." Saya thought, pulling back the curtains and allowing light into the room. Saya hadn't realized it before, but those curtains were blocking light out from a balcony, and a nice one at that. The door remained closed though, but Saya wasn't bothered with opening it. Once the light came in, Saya could see Irisu on the bed, not under the duvet. She was wearing her pajamas, which consisted of a pink button up shirt and pants coveed with bunnies. It made her look kinda cute, and also made Saya wonder what her deal was with rabbits, as she clearly hadn't any pets.

"I didn't tell anyone." Were the first words out of her mouth. Saya laughed. "That's not why I'm here silly! I wanted to see how you were doing!" Irisu's expression relaxed. "You...you did?" Saya nodded, getting closer to Irisu. "Sure! I mean, you did kinda save my life back there, so I guess I have to repay you somehow."

Irisu was pretty taken aback. Not a lot of the Elite had come to see her at all, let alone take care of her, so for Saya to be near the top of that list was...was...unexpected. But...it was also welcome. "Well...I guess I can say-Hey, what are you doing?!" Her raspy voice was raised as she saw Saya unbuttoning her shirt. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna eat ya! I just need to make sure he did a good job is all." Once the shirt was unbuttoned, Saya opened it and had a look at the wound. It was bandaged up just fine, disinfected too, but the amount of dried up blood around it was disgusting. It was all over her torso. "Wow, was that guy on a tight schedule or something?" She asked, an idea forming in her head. "He did what I asked him to." Irisu coughed. "Which was?" Saya asked, though she already knew the answer. "Bring my medicene." Saya laughed, going to the kitchen to find a cloth. "You know that's not gonna help!" She reminded her, filling a basin with hot water. "Yes it does." Irisu responded weakly. "Anyway," Saya continued, getting back over to Irisu with the basin and cloth, soaking the cloth and then wringing it out so there wasn't any excess water. "I'll get you cleaned up in no time." She then got on top of Irisu, and wass about to apply the cloth before Irisu yelped and tried to back up. "W-w-wait! Wh-what are you doing?!"

"The blood's gotta come off. I'm just gonna rub it off nice and gently, so you can just relax." Irisu was now determined not to relax, and that feeling only got worse as Saya took off her sundress, leaving her on nothing but her panties.

"H-h-hey! That's enough!" She began to protest. Saya laughed, saying "Well, I don't wanna get any blood on my dress, so…." Irisu was now completely adamant that she would not relax, but as the cloth was applied, Irisu felt at ease in an instant. Like someone had put out a burning fire inside her or something. Saya, true to her word, was gentle and soft, carefully rubbing all the blood away. She relaxed; allowing her eyelids to become heavy as she struggled not to fall asleep.

But it didn't take young before she was asleep, something Saya noticed, but paid no attention to. She just kept washing away the blood, getting a lot of it off with almost no resistance. Saya looked at her face while she was cleaning. It was only now she really noticed how small Irisu really was, without her regular attire making her look so much bigger. She was still far more physically mature than Saya, regardless of her disappointing physique.

That was somewhat relevant though, as it wasn't long before Saya ran into some problems though. Namely that some of the dried up blood wasn't coming off.

"Come on!" She grunted, but no, the blood would not come off. "No use for me then." Saya sighed. "Unless..." No. Absolutely not. Irisu would have a fit if she found out about the mere mention of such a plan...yet she was still smiling. Well...it _was_ for a noble cause, so what would be the harm?

Having been so relaxed a mere minute ago, Irisu's eyes shot wide open as she felt something warm and wet that wasn't a cloth moving across her torso. She looked down and saw Saya. Saya didn't have the cloth anymore, oh no. She was...she was using her tongue?! Irisu let out a short scream. "Saya!"

Saya looked up mid-lick. "Yeth?" She replied. "I wath jutht cleanin' the blood off." She then took her tongue off Irisu, realizing how hard it was to speak like that. "It's easier to get it off with my tongue."

"I don't care!" A flustered Irisu shot back. "I don't want you to do that!" Her face was red at this point, mortified that she allowed herself to get this far into a situation like this. Saya, on the other hand, was really enjoying it. The taste of blood satisfied her cravings, and that reaction was just priceless. So it wasn't like she was giving up anytime soon.

"Oh?" The blue haired girl raised an eyebrow. "I thought you might have enjoyed it. Clearly I need to step up my game." Irisu didn't like the sound of that. "No, p-please don't-" But she was too late as Irisu went back to her job, licking away all the blood at a furious pace, shutting up Irisu as her resistance became less and less.

"There we go!" Saya licked her lips as she was finishing up. "All-oh! I missed a spot!" Irisu didn't even have the energy to protest at this point. Saya's eyes widened with pleasure as she saw the spot she had missed. Right between Irisu's boobs...she'd definitely get a reaction out of the rabbit girl now. Saya lowered her head slowly and seductively, though Irisu wasn't enjoying that look.

But even that wasn't enough to stop her from enjoying it as Saya got to work. Irisu began letting out little pleasured moans as Saya gave into her animalistic instincts, furiously sucking up the dried blood between her breasts with no sign slow-

"STAAAAAAAAARRRRS!" Nemesis cried, busting through the front door and walking in on the spectacle. When he saw what was before him, he sort of stopped. "Stars?" He questioned. He had heard screaming which drew him to this location, but what he saw was completely different. Saya, moments ago, was giving Irisu immense pleasure, but she was also seemingly eating her. The poor guy couldn't make anything of the situation, so he just stood there and gawped like an idiot.

"GET OUT!" Saya screamed, frantically, rushing back to the kitchen in an attempt to get the hulking brute to go back to his own room. "You big dumb pervert! Why do you keep-Hey, no, stop that!" Saya protested as Nemesis picked her up and put her over his shoulder, carrying her away from the room like a small child, as she pounded his back to get him to release her. Unfortunately for Saya, he wasn't putting her down.

Once she was outside the apartment though, Irisu caught a glimpse of Saya being put down and allowed to transform into her monster form, a pretty bold move considering they were out in the open, but she didn't see much, as while she was transforming, Nemesis gingerly closed the door behind himself. He had put a small dent in the wall when the handle slammed against the wall as he barged in, but it wasn't like Irisu cared. She looked down at her chest as the two began to scream complete jibberish at one another outside the door.

To her credit, Saya had done a good job. All the dried up blood was gone, and her torso looked perfectly clean. She wasn't thinking about that though, more concerned about what might've happened had Nemesis not barged in right as Saya was...cleaning her. Wait. Did Saya like girls? She said she was just doing it to say thanks...but if the former was the case, then she would have to tell Irisu that she didn't like girls like that.

No, Saya wouldn't do it for that reason. If she was interested in that, she would've gone for better places to get a reaction, that was for sure. Was it really out of the goodness of her heart that Saya had come to see her?

She was getting sleepy as she buttoned up her pajama top again, and climbed back into bed, pulling the duvet covers up past her shoulders.

So what Saya had done...it was like...something a friend would do.

A friend? Yeah. Irisu had those back in her world, but sometimes they were more concerned about what they wanted regardless of how Irisu felt about it. Come to think of it, Naughty, Saya, and herself were three social outcasts. Saya for different reasons, but that was besides the point.

Was this home for her? Was this where she might've had a chance to become normal? If that was the case, what if the group disbanded once all threats were dealt with? Would they all have to go home? Surely they'd be allowed to remain in touch?

A lot of questions floated through her mind, but her eyes became too heavy before she could answer them, and so she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Thankfully, there was a library in Leanbox too. It was roughly the same size as the one in Gensokyo, as while Leanbox had a way larger population than the human village, the interest in books wasn't as big, with more interest in the latest technology amongst the general public. But as long as there was a library, it meant Monika had a place to spend most of the day. Today though, Cole was more interested in showing her something outside, rather than talking about poetry or current events.

Monika had a bad feeling about this. She hoped Cole wasn't planning what she thought he was planning. If that was the case, then she didn't want a part of it. But she saw the sign for the firing range from a mile off, and was already against it. "Please tell me we're not gonna go there." She pleaded. "I would, but that would be a lie." Cole answered. "It's just that, y'know, I don't really like guns all that much."

"I know how you feel about that, I've felt the same way. But this is a matter of necessity. If we get attacked again, I figured it'd be better if you knew how to defend yourself." Cole explained. "Can't I use a sword or soemthing?"

"Those things? For posers." Cole dismissed the idea. "So can I tell Green Heart that you said she's using a poser's weapon?" Monika asked. Cole laughed. "You know that's not what I meant."

"Well then, what do you mean?" The young poet asked. "I'm saying that unless you're like one of those more powerful guys of us, who can afford to use those weapons, then the best option is a gun. It's fast, it can be used at a range, and it's effective."

Monika wanted to argue more, but she knew she wasn't getting anywhere. He was taking her to the range, and that was that. Once inside, he paid the guy running the range, taking a rifle that looked like it was from the second world war. The guy gave him his bullets, and Cole loaded the gun. Monika watched, curious to see how Cole would do. The cop made no mistake, firing every round into the target on the other side of the range.

The guy was stunned, and even as Cole handed the rifle back, he had no words. "Also, I'd like something you'd recommend to beginners. For the young lady." He said. The man walked back into his storage, and returned with a small handgun, an empty magazine, and eight bullets. Monika went to her spot, and began to load the bullets into the magazine. That was easy enough, and she was able to load the magazine correctly, then load the gun with the magazine. A 'click' noise indicated she had done everything correctly, and then came the hard part.

She was obviously inexperienced, and the fact that she was nervous on top of that wasn't helping at all. Cole could see that from her stance, which, being honest, was absolutely dreadful. If he didn't show her how it was done she was going to break her nose.

"Here." Cole walked over to her. "I'll give you a hand." Cole stood behind her, with his chest pressed against her back, providing as much support as he could, even holding her hands and helping her to adjust them properly. "No, hold it like this." He instructed, correcting Monika's awkward grip on the gun. "Get both hands behind it."

Then, he gently lowered her arms, helping them extend. "You have to hold it out. If you don't, you're gonna get hurt." Monika sighed. She was nervous, hoping to get this overwith as soon as possible.

The shot rang through the air all around them, and the gun kicked back in her hands, making Monika's heart skip a beat. She opened her eyes, seeing that the shot hadn't hit the target, but... she felt a little more at ease. "Alright, alright. We can try again. You still have seven more shots."

Monika took a deep breath, still trying to compose herself before taking the next shot. She squeezed the trigger, and the bullet came flying out. Both looked down the range at the target, but it was the detective that noticed first. Cole pointed. "Looks like you got a hit." He said, smiling as he pointed. Monika looked, and sure enough, at the bottom of the blue rings of the target, there was a bullet sized hole.

Monika allowed herself to smile. She was, though she couldn't exactly say why, feeling happy.

After all, what good are words when a smile says it all?

She fired six more shots, though none of them hit the target. However, Cole preferred to focus on the positives. He even paid to bring home the target sheet Monika had fired a shot through.

"Not bad Monika. You'll be a real sharpshooter some day." He kept smiling, which Monika was happy about, but she wasn't focused on that. She instead focused on the target she had in her hands. The target...at least Monika had hit it. But when she looked at it, she felt something that was undeniably sadness.

The bullet hole, well, it meant something to her. It was a memory created with Cole, probably created by Cole. She should have been so happy.

But no, she felt crushed inside. Why? Why couldn't she just feel happy?

* * *

"So now what?" McCree asked Jack Morrison. The Overwatch team had all been thrown in cells, branded with microchips on the wrong side of laser bars. Green Heart explained to them how it worked. Anyone not branded with the microchip could pass through the bars with ease, but anyone who was chipped would bounce off the bars and receive a nasty shock.

The hall was white, not sore to the eye, but well lit enough. The cells were a decent size, as they had to accomodate all the needs of a human as the prisoners weren't going to be let out.

Some of them had to share, and McCree with Morisson was one situation where that was the case. They weren't very talkative, that went for everyone captured, including Jason Flemming. Overwatch were admittedly surprised to see him, but he was there, captured like they were.

The loss to Team Fortress was a complete collapse on the part of Overwatch. That wasn't to say anything derogatory about Team Fortress, who were clearly a capable team, but Overwatch certainly would at least have put up a better fight than that if they had the right mindset. But it was to be expected. They were disinfranchised, and unwilling to work together. They came up against a team equal in ability, but far more co-ordinated and organized. They didn't rely on one member to sweep the entire team, and they covered each other's weaknesses.

Was it wrong to think that? The team had failed, but he was their leader. When the team failed, he was supposed to step up and take responsibility.

"Hey, Jesse-" "Don't call me that." The cowboy corrected him. "Hey, McCree. Can I ask you something?"

"Now's as good a time as any I suppose." He grumbled. "Why did we lose?" McCree didn't pause, smirking as he said "Lucky break for those fellas." Morrison thought. "How were they lucky?"

"You think I know? Why don't you ask them?" He shot back. The leader didn't attempt a response, knowing it would be shot down. But it confirmed what he had thought. The team was fractured. McCree knew he hadn't done the best he possibly could against Team Fortress, but he didn't want to say it. Morrison was willing to bet too, that any of the other members would have said similar. Of course, he couldn't ask them at the moment, but he didn't need to in order to know that.

So the team was fractured. That was obvious, but the problem facing them was huge now. As long as they were captured, they would remain fractured, and just blindly hoping someone would come along and free them seemed like very wishful thinking.

So then, if the team was fractured, and they couldn't heal those wounds, then what could they do.

That was where his worried began. With all the factors he had just listed in his head, then there was only one logical step forward for Overwatch.

Disband.

* * *

Back in the Basillicom, in the room where the Elite would have any group talks, there were currently only three people.

Orchid worried a lot for Jago. Her brother didn't speak, despite knowing fluent English, he kept his face covered, he didn't have any hobbies, he didn't have any love interests, nothing but himself.

TJ could see that clearly, with Orchid spending so much time letting it eat away at her. "You still worryin' about him?" Orchid shot him a glare. "Of course I am. What kind of question is that?!" TJ raised his hands in defence. "At ease there. It was just a question."

"Yeah, well..." Orchid stopped. Maybe she was letting it get to her. "Maybe you should go an' talk to him. You're only gonna get grey hairs worryin' without talking." Orchid rolled her eyes. "I'm not really concerned about getting grey hairs."

"Well I am." TJ countered. "I think your hair is pretty damn fine as it is." Orchid couldn't stop herself from smiling at that, though the smile quickly faded as she took TJ's advice and went over to talk to Jago.

"Hey...little bro." Jago turned to face her, a look of someone who couldn't believe what they had just heard. Orchid cringed internally at what she had just said, but tried to continue as normal.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm fine." He replied. Something strange to note about Jago was that he spoke with an American accent, despite being born in Pakistan and living almost all of his life in Tibet. That was a sign of exactly how little he spoke, and something that no doubt concerned Orchid.

"Are you sure? Do you uhh...wanna talk about anything? Maybe we could just spend time together..."

"Orchid, I have no time." Jago responded. "I have to-" "Jesus Jago, you never have time, do you?"

Jago stopped. "I don't understand."

"No, of course you don't. You never do! Would it kill you every once in a while just to say hi?! You're the only family I have left and I barely even know you!"

Jago couldn't respond. "Maybe it's because you can't deal with your inner demons, or maybe it's because you don't want them to stop, but you never have time for anyone but yourself! So in return, I guess I'll just try and show you how I feel!"

Orchid stormed out of the room, seething with rage as a gobsmacked TJ tried to put together in his mind what had happened. He ran after Orchid, leaving Jago to his own devices.

But Jago wasn't feeling as a apathetic as he usually seemed to. Why...he felt something eating away at him. Guilt. That had to be it. But why? Orchid had shouted at him before, but it never hurt so much. Why was it just this time that it pained him so?

Was hejust an awful person?

 ** _Author's Note_**

So a little more lighthearted this time. I told you it would be longer too. The bit where Cole takes Monika to a range was originally gonna be shooting dogoos or something like that, but I figured that would be dark and wouldn't make a lot of sense why Cole would actively seek out creatures that could harm them, partially based off an irl experience.

The Irisu scene was inspired by something N.K. wrote, I ended up liking it more than I probably should've, but what the hell? It was an entertaining idea, and I wanted to use it.

Jago and Orchid are now fighting, well, most of the fighting done by one sibling, but they learn to set aside their differences?

Cortana made the L.O.G. talk by...I actually don't know, lol. Come up with your own crazy suggestions.

Also, I actually wanted this chapter to be longer again, but I'm just gonna make a part 2, lol. There's too much to fit in just one chapter.


	26. The Day After Pt2

Chika Hakozaki was the Oracle of Leanbox, a role sort of like an adviser to the Goddess. A fair skinned woman with red eyes and long pale green hair that went down to her waist, she too wore tight fitting clothes that didn't leave a lot to the imagination. To ber fair, unlike Green Heart, Chika added some style and class to her attire, wearing a long ruffled skirt that went down either side of her legs, as well as a bow in her hair. For being an adviser, she had very childish tendencies, but showed herself to be mature enough when she wanted to be.

Like now, for instance. Chika had one hand on her hip and a look on her face that said 'This had better be good'. She had agreed to answer questions Cole had for her, not really knowing what they were.

Cole had come to Chika knowing he'd be treading on thin ice, having found out that she was It was no secret that her feelings for Green Heart went beyond admiration or respect. She would deny that initially, but if you found the body pillow under her bed that was stained with a suspicious white sticky substance then you would be very hard pressed to come up with any other explanation.

"I just want to ask you some questions about Green Heart. That's all." Cole explained. "Look, for the last time, that wasn't my-" Cole stepped back from her, fearing a violent outburst.

"I'm just looking for basic information on Green Heart." Cole tried to ease her nerves, and it seemed to work. "Well, in that case, I can help."

"Okay, so she's a Goddess, but she has advisors and guards. This says to me that she's not an invincible Goddess, so care to explain what's going on there?" Chika didn't even need to think. "She's not exactly a Goddess all the time. She's a CPU all the time, but only a Goddess when she uses her HDD form."

Cole raised an eyebrow. "HDD?" Chika nodded. "Hard Drive Divintity. That's her form you see now."

"So she doesn't normally look like that?" Chika shook her head. "No, and she behaves really differently too."

"How come we haven't seen her out of HDD?" Cole asked. "I...I don't know. Sis-I mean, Lady Vert has been like this for a while now. A few days before you showed up, she went into HDD and stayed that way. It's probably because of Cortana.

Cole nodded. He could understand now the threat posed by Cortana, that she likely knew all this, and a way to get Green Heart to revert to that vulnerable state. "Who's Vert?" Chika was internally kicking herself, realizing she had used Lady Green Heart's real name. "Uhh...Lady Green Heart's...real name." She slowly admitted, realizing there was little point to putting up a front and pretending it wasn't. "Please don't tell her I used that name in front of you!" Chika begged. Cole was surprised such a minor thing prompted such a reaction. "That's fine, I promise, no one else will know about this conversation."

Chika sighed in relief. "Good to know. If anyone knew I let that slip, then my chances-"

"I think that pillow has already ruined your chances." Cole interrupted her. Chika froze up as her cheeks started to burn and her eyes went wide.

"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!"

* * *

"Hey, what happened?" TJ asked. The only times when he had ever seen Orchid so furious was whenever Ultratech were involved, and here they most certainly were not.

"Ugh!" She rolled her eyes as she continued to storm off. "Hey now, let's at least talk about this. Ain't that what ya got mad at your brother for?" Orchid stopped as she realized TJ was right, and turned around to face the boxer. "I just sort of expect that my own brother would open up to me a little more!" She grumbled. TJ paused. He didn't really have any experience with that, being an only child, though that did make him sympathize with Orchid. No one could read Jago's mind, and that was something he didn't seem to realize himself. "I think he's just like that. You're just gonna have to live with it. He don't like talking."

"But I can't!" She countered. "I...I worry about him. He's got so many problems and he never talks about any of them. Every time I try to help he just pushes me away, and it feels like he might prefer he was all alone."

"What else can I say Orchid? I mean, I know you guys look different n' all, but you're definitely related." Orchid was confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You should see yourself whenever you're workin' on an Ultratech plot. I never ever see ya get so worked up about anything else. Unless it's this."

"What's your point, TJ?" Orchid demanded. "My point is that he's handling the problem the best way he knows how to. You might not appreaciate that, but it's his problem, and at the end of the day, only he'll know how to deal with it."

Orchid sighed. She still didn't agree with TJ at all, but she wasn't interested in a debate that wouldn't end. "Whatever. I'll just...work on my own stuff."

"I know it ain't easy. But y'gotta trust him a little more." TJ explained, before turning to leave. But just before he did, Orchid stopped him.

"Oh yeah, I found something on your boxer friend while going through the Ultratech files." She said, taking a jewel case out of her bra. "Thought you might have some interest." Of course, there was a disc inside, presumably with a movie on it. He'd have to watch it when he got back to his room. "Thanks." He said. "Only thing is, there ain't a cool picture on the front." Orchid barely stopped herself from laughing. "Fuck off, or next time I'll give you more than a cool picture!" She threatened playfully. TJ himself had started laughing at his own crap jokes, as he turned to go and watch the disc. But then he was stopped by a soldier.

"Elite meeting at the Basillicom in twenty minutes!" He informed TJ, before racing off to tell Orchid. TJ paused and looked at the disc in his hand. So that meant he wouldn't get the chance to look at the movie contents, at least not right now. He was admittedly a little disappointed to have to wait, but it wasn't the end of the world. Duty called, and he'd simply have to watch it another time.

* * *

The Gunstringer was on his own, as he had been for a while, and presumably liked it. He was in the prison part of Cortana's complex, not looking for anyone in particular, but rather, just having a stroll.

While passing the cells, he noticed a lot were empty, indicating that they still had a long way to go. Those cells that were occupied didn't show too many signs of life either. Even the once loud L.O.G. was just lying on his bed, wide awake, but not making any noise. What had Cortana done to him? Anyway, they were all very quiet. Except for one. As the Gunstringer turned another corner, a voice called out. "That wasn't half bad." Stranger spoke to the Gunstringer. "You do that often?"

Stranger was sitting at the back of his cell, barely visible to the Gunstringer. "What're you talkin' about?" The Gunstringer asked. "That fightin'. No one's that naturally good unless they got some practise under their belt. So I wanna know what experiences you got."

"That ain't none of your business!" Gunstringer snapped. "My story is mine alone, got it?" Stranger laughed. "Mind ya don't burst a blood vessel gettin' so worked up." He chuckled. The Gunstringer realized he had overreacted, but he refused to back down. "I made my position clear. I'm most certainly not talkin' to you anyway!" He fixed his hat and moved on without another word, but Stranger made no attempt to stop him.

It did raise the question of when he'd ever tell anyone about his past, but it also raised an answer.

Never.

* * *

Yukari, Monty, Chika and Green Heart had gathered the Elite to get ready for their next assignment in the Basillicom, at the table they had met at the last time.

"So what have we learned?" Yukari asked. "A substantial amount, no doubt. Ultratech was most generous in that regard." Green Heart answered. "We still have a lot to learn though. Don't get me wrong, out wins were still wins, but we're going to have to do much better if we want to have a chance." Monty countered.

"Hey come on! We worked hard for that city!" Scout protested. "I don't mean to diminish any achievement of our group. Taking control of Liberty City, taking all that data from Ultratech, and not to mention the captures, we've had a lot of success. But we need more. We've also lost too. Namely Francis, Stubbs and Stranger, all lost." Green Heart explained.

"Do you think they're all dead?" Shu asked, an air of concern in his voice. "Probably not. Though I'll bet it's a fate worse than death, being captured by that bitch." Green Heart answered. Then Cole stood up. "Okay, so while we were on the mission to evacuate that village, we got surrounded by those...zombies. Anyway, I thought we were dead, but this strange looking dragon with a cat's head came out of nowhere and killed them all, before it disappeared just like that. Now, I'm no expert, but I think it was Madotsuki who summoned the creature. I could be wrong, but I have a hunch."

"I'm not so sure. I mean, she's hardly capable of something so violent sounding." Alan Wake argued, highly doubtful of what was being said. Green Heart shook her head. "I know it sounds false, but it's true. I heard no other possible reasons listed." There was some shock caused by that remark, understandably confused at what they were told.

"I'll explain. Madotsuki is a dream child. That's not saying anything about her behaviour, but she can summon anything, from her dreams and use it to fight alongside her. Truly, she is one of a kind."

Cole looked over to the half-asleep child. She had planted her head on the desk and no one could tell whether or not she was paying attention to what she was saying. To be fair, meetings sometimes can drag on, but they'd only been here for quarter of an hour. No one was saying that to her now, not wanting her potentially nightmarish dreams to haunt them. "Don't all shy away from her. It takes a lot of energy to summon those dreams even for a short time, and it doesn't guarantee that you'll die. Besides, she isn't naturally agressive, so she won't use it unless she feels threatened."

That much seemed to put the majority of the Elite at ease for now, though no one was quite sure how long that would last for, with Green Heart's unpredictable discussion topics. "Anyway, that's what I wanted to talk about next. Or well, Monty does. Because I know it's on...some of your minds." She quickly glanced over at Reimu, who knew exactly who Green Heart was referring to when she said that. "Of course. Since the guardian of Gensokyo's human village was killed by this substance, I thought I'd do a little PSA for you. To educate you on the dangers of 115, specifically to humans...and...whatever the hell the rest of you are. Anyway, I thought that my dear friend Richtofen would love to explain to you all the effects of 115 assuming you were to, by chance, get infected."

Richtofen gave Monty a look that showed he clearly didn't hear of, let alone agree to, anything like this. But nevertheless, he stood up and walked to the top of the room, seeing that Monty had even prepared a diagram for him to explain it all. Probably because Richtofen hated speaking in front of large crowds, but he dismissed it. Personal affairs were for later.

"So what can you tell us about the effects of 115?" Green Heart asked. Richtofen looked around before clearing his throat and beginning. "Well, it emits a harmful air that makes all those around it feel nauseous until they can develop a built up resistance to it. This usually takes no more than a few days, but for what reason, I cannot think."

Richtofen paused. "I gave you the demonstration on the plant, yes?" Green Heart nodded. "Try to imagine the same thing on a human. Now, humans generally last at very least a few minutes before turning, but the reality is much more terrifying."

He went over to the diagram, using his hands to point out what he wanted to. "Aside from air infection or ingesting the substance, there's only one way to get infected. The most common way by a large margin: Getting bitten. Let's say this person is bitten in the ankle. In that case they would immediately lose balance and likely be eaten, but assuming there was someone else to make sure that didn't happen, then we get to the scary part. The 115 begins to spread throughout the body. Within a minute it will have spread to the top of the leg. Assuming it is not amputated by then, another minute will allow it to progress to the chest area, and soon the whole body will have 115 coursing through its veins. The body begins to decompose and the brain is attacked, as the 115 attempts to shut it down. Depending on how much blood is lost, how many bites the victim und the physical wellbeing of the person, it could be any measure of time before the victim finally turns."

The table went silent. No one was cracking jokes, though some chose to wear a stern expression on their face. They were of course, all thinking about not only themselves being bitten, but those around them. A pretty horrifying fate no doubt.

Green Heart looked around and decided enough had been done. Cortana was already getting her Elite ready to go out and claim more victories. The success of the Leanbox invasion in particular meant that Cortana had the upper hand very early on.

Green Heart knew she had plenty of lost ground to make up on before she could focus on taking down Cortana entirely. But at the same time, the other villains demanded attention, and that was something she had to plan for.

"I'll be sending you in three teams to three locations. Team One: Nemesis, Saya, Irisu, Naughty, Reimu, Marisa, 47, Cooper, Shu and Blue Dragon, you'll be going to Inkwell Hell, to take down the Devil. Hopefully second time's a charm. Team Two: Team Fortress, Gordon, Brutus, Ezio, Glacius, Jago, Orchid, TJ, Balrog, you'll be going to an Ultratech facility where I've heard of some shady stuff. Bring back anything of interest you find. Finally, Team Three: Steve, Madotsuki, Vince, Cole, Alan, Booker, Elizabeth, Richtofen, Tank, Takeo, Nikolai, Terrarian and Hisako, you're going with Monty. He thinks he knows where the Shadowman's base might be."

The three teams separated out, as if they were completely undeterred by the threat of zombification. "A larger number of troops will be guarding Leanbox while it is under threat from attack. You three units, I can only trust to take care of your objectives."

"We're just gonna fall back into line like this?" Tank asked Richtofen. "What can I say Dempsey? I can only hope we continue to thrive as a part of this team. So long as that holds strong, I will stay with this team." Tank acknowledged that he had a point, but at the same time...he wasn't sure. Maybe just that taking down the Shadowman wasn't the number one objective, but he did feel like their targets weren't as well thought out as they could've been. Still, he was willing to accept that he was in a world where he didn't exactly know a lot about anything, so maybe he was wrong. Maybe, just maybe, these targets were as big as they came.

* * *

Cortana had gathered her Elite for a meeting, with plenty of information at her disposal now to make things easier. "Alrighty then. Let's get down to business." Marcus suggested.

"Good idea." Cortana agreed. "I was going to have us all play poker instead." Marcus ignored the comment, as did Cortana. "As for our serious affairs, I think the first missions were an overwhelming success."

No one could argue with that. "Despite not taking Liberty City, which resulted in the capture of Overwatch, and losing Jason at Ultratech, we have made three captures of our own, taken data from Ultratech, captured the Lord of Games, and launched a very successful attack on Leanbox. Of course, there will be repercussions for that last one, but as long as no one finds out where we are, we'll be safe from harm. At least, until we can afford to give away our location."

Alex grinned. "So I guess we work alright together then." The Jack rolled his eyes. "I'll grant you that." Rick admitted. "I've worked with worse."

"HEY!" The Terror Mask boomed, immediately realizing who the joke was aimed at.

"You fellas actually ain't half bad to work with!" Cuphead remarked. "Even you, Shovel boy." He added under his breath.

"It's all good that some of us stayed behind at the base, but how about we all go out on these missions?" Jack Cooper suggested. "I was planning that." Cortana confirmed.

"I assume the soldiers around the place are gonna stay back and defend?" Jack Walters asked. "Yes, that was also part of my plan. I'll be staying back too." Walters nodded, though he looked unconvinced, something that Cortana noticed. "Is there something wrong with my plan? I'm willing to accept there is." She offered. "It's just that...you're placing a lot of faith in no-one ever finding this place." The cop pointed out. "What happens when someone does?"

Cortana realized he had a point, and decided to acknowledge it. "Rest assured. I designed this facility to protect itself from pretty much everything. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is going to take over this place on my watch.

By this point, the whole room broke out into conversation as people exchanged criticisms and ideas, all believing themselves to be right. Cortana knew that this had gone on for too long. Time to give out assignments.

"Alright, we've done a good job, let's keep it up for the next missions!" Cortana tried to encourage the Elite, and surprisingly it worked. They all went quiet as Cortana was due to read out the groups.

"I want The Jack, Kaim, Cuphead, Mugman, Blinx, Chief, Dovahkiin, Doomguy, Shovel Knight and Sun Kin to go to Inkwell Hell, and fight the Devil. He should be our next target, if what I've read from these files is true. Shepard, Joanna, Gunstringer, Marcus, Marius, Spelunker, Niko, Kasumi and Ryu all will be taking on the Lady of the Dead. Finally, Rick, Sam, Jack C., Jack W., Isaac, Nick, Alex, Banjo, Kazooie, Conker and Kameo, thanks to our prisoner, I think we now know where West Manor is. If you can find it, I want you to go inside and report back anything you find to me."

The Elite sprung into action, getting ready to head out the next day for their missions, with some of them thinking of a chance for revenge.

But then there was one black sheep of the Elite, who would've rathered he was kept at the base as opposed to being sent out. The Gunstringer cringed when he heard he would be fighting _her_ again. He really wasn't looking forward to that.

* * *

Word of the L.O.G.'s capture had spread quickly, though the outrage and panic wasn't too great. Dr. West, the Devil and the Shadowman were indifferent, Gengetsu didn't know who he was, and the Lady of the Dead was glad that he was gone, but ARIA was troubled. One less body in the way of the Elite as they inevitably tried to take down Ultratech. ARIA was not someone who blindly believed Ultratech was infallable, and fully recognized the threat posed by the Elite to not only her, but every other villain as well. If only the others would take it seriously.

"This doesn't concern you?" She finally asked. The Shadowman was the only other person at the since repaired Ultratech Pinnacle, looking out the window as ARIA asked the question. He shook his head. "I must confess, not really." ARIA was surprised. "You can't be serious. I figured you would've loved another person in the way." She argued. "I am...indifferent." He stated. "Yes, I am disappointed that our numbers have been thinned, but at the same time, an ego like that is borderline insufferable. Maybe his time away will do him some good."

He had a point. ARIA thought. "I am simply concerned for West. He's far too vulnerable on his own, especially since those creatures he tried to summon were sealed away. I have calculated the odds, and they tell me that an attack from Cortana's side would possibly mean the capture of Dr. West, who wouldn't hesitate to talk if he believed he was endangered like that." The Shadowman mused. "I see. Well, so long as none of them end up finding West, then we should be okay for the time being at least."

"I wish it were that simple. To find West's mansion directly would take a considerable amount of skill, but the other way is being armed. I've sent 500 Fulgores to guard the position, so it shouldn't be too long before that position is secure."

"Well then, why be so worried?" The Shadowman asked, not seeing where there could be a problem. "It still won't stop them from finding it. For all I know, they might already be there."

The Shadowman chuckled. "Are you serious? Already? I'd doubt that very much."

"I deiberately over-exaggerated. I have faith in my armies to do well on my behalf, but I shall be cautious, just in case."

The Shadowman paused. Then he started smiling, as a plan began to form in his head. "Well, these doubts in your head are doing you no good. How about a helping hand?"

ARIA considered it. She was aprehensive at first, but the longer the talk went on, the more and more she liked the idea, to the point where she was now ready to go ahead with it.

"Very well." She nodded. "I will accept your offer." The Shadowman began to smile again. His plan was working, and now with Ultratech, he had the potential to kill anyone who came near that facility.

 _ **Author's Note**_

So now that's all done, back to the action next time. I'm kinda glad I did the two chapters now, it gave me an opportunity to focus on more characters, which is something I like doing.

So what's that video gonna say about Balrog? Will any of these missions be a success? What's going to happen when two groups run into each other again? Will Chika ever have a chance with Vert?

Some of those questions will be answered, and some of them won't be. Stick around for the next few chapters to find out which is which!

Idk when the next chapter will be out, or what chapter it's gonna be, but I'll get it released.

P.s. Nk, you had a good idea, but that wasn't what made him talk. 'Strawberry Ice-Cream' did though. XD


	27. The Splatterhouse

The desert was harsh for anyone walking across it, even the Fulgore units that marched in two lines towards the Ultratech facility ARIA had instructed them to guard. They had almost arrived, with the facility seemingly abandoned, sand piling up against the walls, shards of glass from broken windows resting on top of those piles too.

The Fulgores found their way to the main entrance. Two plain doors with the notice 'KEEP OUT' on the front, and a chain with a lock on it holding them shut.

The Fulgores stared for a minute before one of them finally took the step up to the door, trying to pry it open with its hands. Thanks to its brute strength, it wasn't long before the lock started to give way, creating a gap between the doors as it was peeled back, which only made it easier to tear apart. But as the gap opened up more and more, the Fulgore noticed something.

Fire.

Coming straight for it.

It wasn't just the one Fulgore, oh no. All of a sudden, something swept all of them. A huge surge of heat in and outside their bodies. Their circuits were starting to overheat, it wouldn't be long now before...before...be...fore...

Ultratech putting its facilities so far out in the middle of nowhere seemed very odd. However, no one doubted that they would, it did seem like a lot of effort to fake something like this, but then again, they were talking about Ultratech. They could pretty much do anything. "What do you guys think?" Brutus asked. "About what?" Glacius walked closer to the doors.

The doors had been pryed open a bit, then melted, with about twenty Fulgores lying on the ground, well overheated, evident from their burnt exteriors and the steam rising from their bodies. Team Fortress, Gordon, Brutus, Ezio, Glacius, Jago, Orchid, TJ and Balrog all entered, no one triggering any alarms or traps which could have potentially been set. It seemed as though things were far too easy for the Elite. Something had to be wrong.

"Looks like someone beat us here. Did a pretty good job too." Balrog remarked, giving one Fulgore who had clearly tried to crawl inside before overheating a light tap with his foot. Orchid nodded. "Yeah..." It wasn't like she was unhappy, but she had a strange idea that she knew who did it...and that simply didn't add up. Oh well. "We should probably go inside and make sure he hasn't stolen anything."

"What makes you so sure it's a he?" TJ asked, sensing that something was up. "Force of habit." Orchid replied. " _They_ could have had orders from Ultratech." She was extra-sure to use gender neutral pronouns when talking about was done by the mystery person (most likely Cinder) as not to raise false alarms. The number one objective was extracting data from the facility, which meant machines would have to be observed, and anything of note would have to be taken back to Leanbox for further examination. If they were distracted even just a little, then there was a chance they'd miss something vital.

Walking inside, they noticed the place had quite a few windows. Very convienient, as the lights weren't on. There was air conditioning though, as it was notably cooler inside than outside, and they could hear a whirring noise. Given that the place probably had a few machines, it could've been anything, but it was more than likely the ac.

"Strange." She remarked. "For an abandon facility, they kept a lot of things going." She went over to a nearby light switch and started flicking the lights on and off. So the place had running electricity? "I see." Glacius mused. "Here, let's find more appliances. We can see if this was a mistake." So they began looking for a break room. To be honest, the place looked like an old factory, which might have explained why Ultratech abandoned it, so they could pursue more advanced means of production. This one looked like it was manned by no AI, but instead by humans. The first aid kits and fire alarms on the walls seemed like they would have very little use otherwise.

"Okay, so there were people here." TJ muttered. "Yeah, a few years ago. I'm not sure what they would use a dump like this for anymore." She gestured to look around, illustrating her point. TJ took the point, but saw something Orchid seemed to be overlooking. "Y'don't think that maybe that's why they'd hide something here?"

"Of course I do." She replied, confusing TJ. "I just don't want us to get distracted from the main goal: Getting Ultratech equipment and bringing it back to Leanbox. Not worrying about stuff like thay which we don't need to." TJ smirked, understanding the point, but just seeing Orchid act the eay she usually did was kind of sweet. She was so headstrong and undiplomatic in the field that you really couldn't help but smile, once you knew her, that is.

Balrog, in stark contrast to Orchid's meticulous and planned approach, was busy ripping drawers out of desks and emptying the contents onto the floor. He'd occasionally come across some jewellery, even coming a across a pair of keys which could open potentially locked doors later on. Why he went for the jewellery was a mystery, even if he had it, he'd still have to pawn it, and that would mean more than likely he'd have to go somewhere where the villains ruled the roost, like Ultratech City.

"Hey man, you findin' anything?" TJ asked. "It's just a load of old crap!" Balrog grumbled. Tj looked to Balrog's feet and saw what he meant, seeing nothing but stationery. Pens, pencils, sellotape, paper clips, stuff like that. But as Balrog opened up a drawer near he bottom of the desk, TJ saw something that finally might have proven useful. "Wait!" He stopped Balrog from dumping everything on the floor, and then took the drawer from him. They were Ultratech documents, with the first being dated to as far back as 1977. "Huh. I'll be." TJ muttered. "What's so important?" Balrog asked. "I don't know. But I say Orchid would probably really appreciate all this, y'know?"

Balrog shrugged, not really knowing an answer, but also not being assed to answer it. He really didn't care whether or not Orchid appreciated it. "Alrighty men! All this stuff is getting shipped back on a teleporter in a few minutes, so get your asses into gear!" He barked before rushing off to whatever duty called him next. Both got the message though, with TJ going to the teleporter set up by Engineer just outside the building and throwing in the box of papers. Balrog also threw in his newly collected jewellery, while few other people had anything to throw in, Orchid found some blueprints for potential projects. She said they weren't important, as most of the projects she looked at were around 20 years old, so it was unlikely they mattered. But still, she kept them and sent them home so she could look at them in more detail.

"So, did we scout the whole building?" 47 asked. "Because if so, this has been a waste of time."

"Well Jago?" Jago stopped. That voice that called his name...no one else heard it. "Jago, I think they're missing something. Do you know where the wall with the crack in it is? Yes Jago, that's the one. Well, how about you go back there and pry that pesky wall open? You never know, there might be something in there." Gargos chuckled. Jago didn't respond. He knew he couldn't, or everyone would think he was nuts, and Orchid would start worrying about him again.

But still, ill intentions aside, Gargos was providing vital information. For Jago to withold that much would've been absolute madness. "I think we should double-check. Just to be sure we haven't missed anything." Luckily, from the initial looks he was given, no one looked as though they suspected anything.

"I agree." Orchid backed him up. "We should make sure we haven't missed anything." Jago kept an eye on his sister, looking for anything to suggest she had already figured out that he wasn't the one who suggested the idea. But still, that didn't matter. What was going to be a bigger issue was when he would have to show knowledge that not only was there a crack on a particular wall, but tearing into it would result in the whole wall being brought down.

They all split up in pairs, Jago going with Orchid to have a look, convieniently in the area where he needed to go. It was a narrow corridor, with a concrete wall on the left side from where Jago was standing, having a long, though narrow crack going down the middle of the wall. Orchid was scanning around, looking at nearby shelves for a hidden switch, or anything. She couldn't find anything like that though, with the shelves seemingly empty aside from meaningless crap. Jago weighed up his options. He'd have to make the discovery look like a complete accident, but how could he do that?

Jago then remembered the blade on his back. He pulled it out and took it in his hand, and began looking around. "See anything?" Jago shook his head, and began to move over to Orchid, but not before plunging his blade into the crack. He made it looked like he tripped, and even without his full strength behind the blade, he still managed to drive it in. Orchid's attention immediately turned to him. "What happened?" She asked, going over to help him up. "Tripped." He replied, another one word response. Orchid again seemed to believe him, as she simply reprimanded him for his apparent clumsiness. "Maybe if you wore something other than those pants you wouldn't trip." Jago didn't respond, knowing his sister would've already moved onto the crack in the wall. She pulled the sword out with little effort, and handed it back to Jago.

"Wow, looks like you really made a dent in this wall." She said, noticing the hole as the dust cleared from around it. Once the dust cleared, she began to notice the hole. It was like...there was a room on the other side of the wall. Orchid should've suspected that Jago's fall at this stage was no fluke, but somehow, she didn't. "I'll go and get the rest of them. You tear down this wall." She ordered, before racing off.

"Your sister would make a nice queen..." Gargos suggested inside Jago's head, no doubt trying to wind up her younger brother. "I'll make sure you never get anywhere near Orchid!" Jago growled, punching another hole in the wall, this time using his bare fists. It was obvious now that whatever the wall was made out of, it was made so it could be broken through easily. Clearly this was the days of early Ultratech, as modern day Ultratech would've simply put a door with ID requirements there. How times have changed.

Indeed, as Jago tore down the wall at a steady pace, Gargos not bothering to make any more threats to Jago, the monk wondered what it must have been like in the coroporation's earliest days. Not having all the illegally stolen alien technology that effectively allowed them to buy the whole planet. He had no sympathy for them though, as their 'evolve or die' approach to modernization and monoculture that completely destroyed everything that was human about human society made a strong contender for his most hated enemy. One more swing, and the wall came down, revealing an empty room with a locked door. It wasn't even a door that had one of those high tech locks that zapped you if you were unauthorized to enter the room though, it was just a regular lock, on a plain steel door. Seeing the Ultratech logo on something so outdated was like seeing a sensible blog on tumblr, it just didn't make any sense at all to have it there. Maybe he could ask questions when he got back to Ultratech one day?

Then Jago had another idea. Maybe Ultratech could cure him. Cure him of Gargos. Wait, was he really that desperate? He didn't know...

"Alright, I'm back." Orchid snapped him out of his thoughts, as he turned around to see the rest of the Elite accompanying her back to the hole. "So there was something hidden behind the wall. Smart idea." Brutus commented. "How the hell did you figure that out?" He turned to Jago. "Luck." Jago responded. Brutus shrugged it off and looked ahead to the door. "Now to open that thing."

"Relax yourself. I got it." TJ took the key Balrog had found and put it in the lock, and turned the key. The door opened back, and soon, a whole room was revealed. This time though, much bigger. It was almost entirely empty, and dimly lit to give off a vibe that no one was meant to enter the room. Nvertheless, the Elite pushed on. It seemed very empty at the end they were in, but further down, that's when things got crazy.

"Hey, have a look at that!" TJ pointed out, looking at a huge red circular device which was sitting on its own, surrounded by all sorts of computers. "Looks like there is something Ultratech doesn't want us to know about here after all." Orchid muttered. "Smart idea to hide it here." She walked over to the computers, as did Gordon Freeman, with both of them looking to see what exactly the device did. Ezio, who had been silent for almost the entirety of the mission, finally spoke up.

"This seems far too dangerous for us to use. Perhaps we should turn back and report this. "Are you crazy?! We came so far to find it, might as well use it." Orchid countered. Ezio was aprehensive, but agreed to hold back for just a little while. After they had to split up for a little while, it was Gordon who found a giant lever. He signalled for them all to come over, before pulling it. "Well, hope we find out what it does now." TJ muttered, as a few moments of silence followed once Gordon pulled the lever.

Then there was a loud noise, like a bomb going off in front of them, before the machine started to whir into life. A large blue ball began to form at the center as the giant red circle spun around, with a smaller circle trying to contain the blue ball. The force was so strong it was making the ground around them shake, and for a brief moment, even Orchid began to think that Ezio might have been right.

But the rumbling soon subsided, as the once empty red circle was now filled with a swirling blue vortex, like a whirlpool or something. No one could comprehend it. Why was the machine making this? What purpose did it serve?

Either way, no one wanted to be the guinea pig and test it out, for fear of being obliterated upon contact with the vortex.

"Do you like it, Jago?" Gargos asked. Jago said nothing, knowing not to react. "I might as well tell you what it is, so you don't spend all day gawping at it. It's a rift. A tear in reality." Jago began to put two and two together, but Gargos was still talking. "Not my technology at the moment, but instead, it belongs to Ultratech. Even then, they didn't make it. It was that West fellow, the Shadowman wanted him to make it based off some experiments he did a few years ago." Jago still remained exactly where he was, not wanting to make any rash decisions. "Oh yes, you don't know where it goes. I'll tell you that too. West Manor."

That clarified absolutely nothing, but Gargos kept going.

"It's not the stronghold it once was, but the Shadowman has been kind enough to supply his own protection to the place, in the event of an intrusion. This would of course mean you having to fight. It could mean that people die. But you never know. Maybe it'll be a tremendous success, maybe you'll find everything you're looking for here, I don't know. Even if that's not the case Jago, you need to fight. You know what happens when you don't fight..."

Jago knew that. He couldn't shut out Gargos entirely. He needed to let the demon out in short controlled bursts. It never held him back for good, but until Jago found a permanent solution, it would do. He made his mind up. He was going in.

As he began to walk towards the swirling vortex, several members of the Elite began to voice their concerns, especially Orchid. "Jago, what the hell are you doing?!" She called out, almost jumping over the control panel to get to her brother. He only picked up the pace when that happened, rushing towards the portal as all the cries of the Elite to stop him blended together as white noise in his ears, something he ignored as he finally reached the portal.

It happened the minute he touched the portal. Gone. Everything on him was gone too. Orchid was stunned. It didn't look like he had disintegrated, at least not here. "What the hell? It's like he teleported...wait." Scout realized in a late epiphany. "A teleporter?" Orchid was skeptical. "A teleporter..." She repeated. "Is that really plausible?"

Orchid couldn't really comprehend why a simple teleporter would be so hidden away from them, when it was obvious to Ultratech that they already had access to that kind of technology.

"I'm just sayin'. The way he went through it there kinda says he isn't dead if ya know what I mean." Orchid didn't know what he meant, but she didn't really have to, as Jago himself reappeared back in front of her. "Jago!" Orchid breathed a sigh of belief. "What's on the other side?"

He didn't answer, simply gesturing for the Elite to follow him through. Though some were hesitant, they deemed Jago trustworthy enough to follow, and so they did.

Once on the other side, they saw a very bleak and disturbing world. A mansion of sorts, with everything a sickening dark grey, occasional splatters of blood going across the floor and walls, and a balcony to the room they were in. Standing in a control room elevated above the room, was a deathly pale man, grey hair on his head, wearing a lab coat, with a smile on his face that reeked of trouble.

"Ah, the Microsoft Elite. I see you had no trouble finding this place." He began, his voice coming out through a speaker. "I am Dr. Henry West. You might know me, or perhaps you've been living under a rock, but this happens to be my residence."

"So you're the scientist that's working with Ultratech!" Orchid snarled. "Yes. I wouldn't try firing that gun at me either, the glass is bulletproof." He added, seeing Orchid reach for Scout's gun.

West sighed. "Normally I'd have your entrails all over the floor by now, but since I am a little less equipped to deal with unwanted house guests...I suppose I can let you wander around." His smile became even more sinister, hoping that the Elite would be able to find certain things that weren't exactly safe to be in contact with.

With that, laughing to himself, West disappeared from view, and the Elite were left alone. There was only one way out of the room, and it was obvious they weren't going to just stand around waiting for something to happen. "Important thing is to stick together. We don't know what this sick fuck has up his sleeves, could be anything." Even Orchid agreed to that much, wary of what the doctor wanted them to find in his house of horrors.

"Have patience Jago." Gargos told his host. "He might want you to find some things, but I know what you'll really want to find. Trust me, you'll be really thankful if you do."

Despite Jago's reluctance, it was obvious that the team as a whole was going to benefit from anything they could find here, so once again, Jago's trust went to his most hated enemy.

It kind of sucked. He didn't ask for a lot out of life, but here he was, in a place where he could probably be killed in over a thousand excruciatingly painful ways, with his greatest hope of survival being a voice in his head that wanted to take over his body.

It really was shit to be him.

* * *

Rick, Sam, Jack Cooper, Jack Walters, Isaac, Nick, Alex, Banjo, Kazooie, Conker and Kameo were on their way to where they believed West Manor was, or rather, where Cortana had told them it was. Rick did have a gut feeling that she might have been right though, as did the Terror Mask. The rest of the group was inclined to believe them too, given their history with Dr. West.

"Alright, I'll bite." Conker said, breaking the ice. "What makes this East dude so special?"

"West, squirrel boy." Terror Mask corrected him. "Well...what can I say?" Rick started. "Dr. Henry West was a professor at Miskatonic University, though I honestly have no idea what exactly it was he did..." He went quiet for a minute. No one questioned it, but the silence hung over the conversation like a dark cloud waiting to rain down on them all. "...my girlfriend, she really looked up to him though. She was way more into that than I was, all that sciencey stuff I couldn't even begin to understand any of that-"

"Sorry to rush you, but we're kind of interested in the point of the story, not your backstory." Alex Mercer interrupted, sensing that the story would go on for a while. "Hey, Mercer. You wanna tell this story?" Rick asked, with plenty of venom in his voice. Alex shrugged. "I don't even know the story." That was all Rick needed to hear. "Oh, you don't? Well why don't you shut the fuck up and let me tell it?" That surprised everyone. Even the Terror Mask stayed silent, caught completely off-guard, not just by what Rick had said, but the way in which he said it.

Not even Alex would bite back after that, allowing Rick to continue telling his story. "She wanted to go and see him, though it was unlikely he'd ever have time for a college student, given how busy he was almost every day. But luck must've been smiling down on her...or not." He corrected himself, getting a little sad at his own inappropriate joke. "But she got some time to talk to him, and she dragged me along with her. As I said before, I didn't really understand much about all that stuff, but seeing her so happy...I had to go. I couldn't just say no."

He paused for a little while more before starting again. "We...we made it to the manor at a reasonable time, we were gonna go in, Jenny would be able to talk with her idol, and then..." He went quiet again, and though the Terror Mask concealed the emotions shown on his face, it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was getting increasingly sad as he went on.

"Hey look, we're here!" The Terror Mask changed the subject, for once not berating Rick for his insecurities. The rest looked up, greeted by an intimidating looking manor. It looked like it was a relatively big place, old though. Very old. The outside of the house made it seem like the house came straight from the civil war, rather than something which belonged to a world famous scientist.

However, Rick's accounts already told of a person who had more than a few questionable behaviours, so perhaps this would be the thing that made the most sense at the end of it all. "Doesn't look like a lot of space to cover..." Conker muttered. "We should find this West guy pretty soon."

"Don't get your hopes up." Terror Mask shot him down. "This place is one of those where the inside is way bigger. Believe me, if we can find him within an hour, it'll be a huge success." Conker didn't like the sound of that, but neithet did any of the rest of the Elite, who all braced themselves for a tough fight.

"Any idea what this guy will defend himself with?" Kameo asked, wondering what would be the most effective way to attack. Rick shrugged. "The army he had the last time were all slaughtered, so I have no idea what he'll throw at us this time." Terror Mask admitted. "Knowing him, it'll probably get really messy, really quickly."

None of them took any comfort in that, but Terror Mask was already chuckling to himself as Rick kicked down the doors to the manor, eager to get inside.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Splatterhouse!"

 _ **Author's Note**_

So why is Gargos helping Jago? Well, it's got to do with something that West has, and I'll leave it there. Also, yeah, when I get back to this, it'll be a lot more of a...well, splatterhouse, than anything I've written before. Not mindless, but definitely packed with a lot of violence.

Sorry for the delay, but this chapter is now part of a two parter, when it was initially just the one. There's some stuff that happens later that I figured would need a lot of attention to itself, so I split it up.

Next I'll probably do Inkwell Hell again, but Idk, I'll have a look and see which path I'd rather take next.

Thanks for reading!


	28. Letting Old Ghosts Die

The Gunstringer hadn't talked about his past, and he never intended to. The wounds which he concealed were probably best left without being opened up again.

His relationship with Mictecacihuatl hadn't exactly been great, that was obvious. So when some people decided to go asking him about it as if he got paid to answer questions, then that really got on his nerves. He much prefered to talk about fighting her, if only to distract from the other things he knew about her.

The Lady of the Dead was brutal, especially when it came to dealing with her enemies. Looking at her, she looked as though she couldn't hurt a fly without breaking her back, but she was a Voodoo Priestess. She could fly too, though she didn't often exercise that ability, but many lifeless corpses were turned into dolls which she used to put on shows for herself. The Gunstringer had no basis at all for that statement, but he denied any allegations that he was making it up.

"Hmm...looks like we got here alright." Marcus Fenix remarked, looking at the western set up that awaited the group. It was done in the style of a puppet show, with nothing seeming very real at all. The buildings were ripped straight from spaghetti westerns, some of them weren't even fully above ground, there was a bit of Mexican style mixed in for good measure, just to reinforce the fact that nothing was real in this world.

"Maybe bringing a few men with us would've helped." Marcus suggested. "No. Not today anyway. I'll bring only what I need, and on this occasion, that means only me."

"He has a point. What can puppets do to us, huh?" Niko Bellič asked, loading an AK-47. The Gunstringer shot him a glare, which the Serb ignored. "I guess you're right. Still, I've seen some shit so far. I'll bet there's probably way more that'll surprise us all, and I'm kind of banking on this being one of those things."

"Cortana said she's a Voodoo Priestess." Shepard remembered. "She attacks with dolls doing all her dirty work, so we'll have to kill them all. Fortunately, they're all quite fragile, so that won't be a problem with what we have."

"So what is our plan?" Niko asked. "I'd say we want to get to her as soon as possible. We'll probably waste too much time if we focus on destroying all her minions. Try to cut out the middle man, just go straight for her."

"So this will be about speed. I can do that." Ryu affirmed. Kasumi was confident too, having brought along her own swords rather than going for hand to hand combat, expecting plenty of foes.

"Great. This should be pretty easy then." Joanna pointed out, loading her guns, while Spelunker sorted through his own weapons, nodding in approval as he took out a staff.

"I don't want anyone thinking that!" Shepard snapped. "We have to take this seriously. If we lose, the consequences will be severe!"

"Well, why don't we ask the only one of us with experience against her?" Marius suggested. The Gunstringer cursed the Centurion. Why had he all of a sudden brought that up. "Oh yeah, uh, the price of losin' is mighty steep, so don't go foolin' around against this one. Not as easy as some of you folks are acustomed to." He said half-heartedly.

That seemed to satisfy them for now. As far as the Gunstringer was concerned anyway. He had his revolvers, and his shotgun. Hidden underneath the back of his poncho, of course. That was only reserved for especially sticky situations though, and the Gunstringer much preferred his smaller dual wield hand guns.

"Alright, let's get moving." Shepard instructed the group, as they moved forward into the Lady of the Dead's territory.

* * *

Cinder had walked away from the Ultratech facility a while ago, having left about two dozen overcooked Fulgores behind him, a nice little surprise for when ARIA decided to come and inspect the place.

Honestly, the more he thought about her, the more he hated her. She was gonna just betray him like that? All because that purple die headed little fag decided that he didn't want anyone who wasn't braindead working for Ultratech. Why was he so concerned anyway? Not like he'd ever been involved with Ultratech in the past, so what was his craic getting involved with them now? Either way, Cinder was on the run now. The Elite knew he worked for Ultratech, so there was no chance they'd take him on. Ultratech, for obvious reasons, weren't an option either.

It seemed as though he was a lone wolf from now on, with neither side willing to take him in. He didn't mind though, so long as he got to cause chaos for anyone he didn't like, and there were a lot of people who fell into that category.

"Hey, you're Cinder right?" A voice asked. Cinder almost thought he imagined it. Who the hell would be calling his name out here? It wasn't exactly in the middle of the desert, but he was still in the desert, a very long way from anywhere hospitable.

"You _are_ Cinder, right? There are no other ex-Ultratech employees that were permanently set on fire that I could be mistaking you for?" Cinder turned to the source of the voice.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked. "Name's Juri." She said. "Anyway, I heard you were kicked out of Ultratech's little clubhouse, figured you might want a parnter to cause chaos with."

Cinder paused. "How do I know you're not trying to bring me back to Ultratech so they can make sure I'm not a problem?" Juri paused. "Uh..." She rubbed her hand against her head and shrugged. "No idea. Guess you'll have to take my word for it."

Cinder was already a little confused. Surely this was all a hoax? She seemed absolutely batshit insane, even by his standards, and he had no other ideas as to what she was like. She was a woman...she was also Asian...aside from that, Juri might as well have just tried to kill him as soon as she saw him.

"Look, I can't exactly pay you for this. The last guy I tried to get on my side had that issue." She rolled her eyes, thinking of Balrog's fixation on money. "But...it'll be a lot of fun..." She had-wait, she grabbed his hands? Admittedly, when the flames on Cinder's body were hiding undermeath his rock skin, it didn't hurt to touch him as much, but he was still able to cook bacon strips on his back. Her hands must've been absolutely incinerated by now.

"I'd take your hands away from me if I were you." Cinder suggested. Juri seemed very disappointed by that suggestion, almost a little upset. "Why?" She asked. "Um, hello? I am literally on fire!" He screamed in her face. Juri looked down at her hands as she held his, not talking for a moment. "Uh-huh. That's right, you're on fire."

"So why don't you stop giving yourself third degree burns and let go?" Juri ignored him and began to move her head closer to his...

Cinder then pushed her back. "What the hell is your problem?!" He demanded. "Well, ya think I'm still working for Ultratech now?" Cinder had to be honest. There was no way this nutjob would ever get a position at Ultratech, so she had at least proven that she wasn't working for ARIA. "Yeah yeah, you proved that much. But what the hell was that all about?"

"I think we'd make a great team. I'll be honest, I'm really not into you, at all, but...it can kinda get lonely when you're making chaos all by yourself. I think it'd be nice to have someone to work with."

Okay, so the crazy lady was now going with the honest sweetheart approach. Well, ok, it wasn't exactly a sweetheart approach when large scale crime was involved, but still, she was being ofdly polite all of a sudden.

Did she really have a hidden agenda? Did it matter? He was, as he said, a lone wolf now. Did he prefer it that way? In some ways, but to have someone else to work with again...

"You said your name was Juri, yeah?" She thought about it for a second. "Last time I checked, yeah."

"Okay. Well, I'm the smartass around here, so drop that schtick and I'll give ya a chance to work with me."

She smiled a little. It was a sadistic kind of smile, the one that said 'I'll be able to hurt so many more people now' rather than one of genuine happiness for a good reason, but it was a smile nonetheless.

She even shook his hand, which he tried to incinerate her for by letting the fire seep out through the cracks in his rock skin, but she pulled away before he could do that.

"You're a little too predictable. Work on that." Cinder then noticed something even more alarming.

Her hands weren't even slightly burnt.

* * *

Mictecacihuatl was expecting them, being completely honest. She had seen the attack coming a while back, and while seeing the Gunstringer back again did evoke a mixture of emotions inside her, she was focused on destroying them where they stood. If it helped her earn trust amongst the villains, then it was worth it.

Was it?

Yes, of course it was. That was out of the question. What did concern her though, was that she could be trying for hours to bring down the Gunstringer and his little gang, so she had to have plenty of fodder ready. This came in the form of loads of voodoo dolls with pins sticking out of them rather than into them that were mainly used as projectiles, as well as some interesting machines. She could of course defend herself too, with her being able to fire blasts of voodoo magic, but she hoped it wouldn't get to that stage.

At least not with all of them.

Back down at the little surreal town, the Elite noticed that the weather seemed to be gettinv worse. Not in a natural way either, but the sky was getting darker as they neared the Lady of the Dead, indicating she had plenty to do with it.

She was on top of a giant tabletop mountain, seemingly one she had the Shadowman or ARIA level for her, as it looked unnaturally flat, but the climb up to the top was more about gradually getting higher as they ran, rather than one steep climb.

"It seems as though she has something to do with it." Marius remarked, taking his sword out of its sheathe. "Yeah, I think we can expect a lot of attacks really soon." Shepard backed him up, already having plenty of weapons on standby. The Spelunker still clutched at his staff, knowing he'd have to use it, and knowing that time was probably soon.

Too bad for him, 'soon' meant right now. They were greeted by a barrage of voodoo dolls from the left. Niko swore in Serbian and fired his AK at them, getting most of them down before more began to appear. Joanna helped out by decimiating them while Niko reloaded, but it wasn't long before they started coming from all directions.

Then two of them came by on a machine spilling oil across the path and then lighting it on fire as they went, creating more chaos as the Elite were caught at sixes and sevens. Gunfire went in every direction as the voodoo dolls began to crowd them.

Thankfully the team of leaders were soon able to regain their composure.

"We're making it too easy for them, spread out!" Shepard ordered. As soon as she did that, the dolls became confused, splitting up in pursuit of different targets. Niko used his free space to take out a rocket launcher and fire it at the oil spilling machine, blowing it to smitherines instantly.

Marius and Kasumi both had swords which were able to cut through the dolls like butter, making the whole affair seem like something of a gross mismatch, while Spelunker's staff killed anything the projectiles fired from it touched, so he was always quick to kill off any dolls that came his way, no matter how quickly they came back.

Ryu Hayabusa undoubtedly benefited the most from the extra space, having the area around him to swing his sword and take out huge chunks of the 'armies' against him proved to be a huge advantage.

However, it seemed as though this was only a temporary solution, as there seemed to be no shortage of the projectiles being fired at them. Ryu knew there was only one person he could ask for help.

"Tell me, you must have dealt with this before, skeleton!" Ryu called out to the Gunstringer. "How many must we kill?!"

"It ain't a matter of numbers! Just gotta keep goin' on ahead!" Ryu realized then that they could probably be there for a while.

"Only way for us to stop this is to put it out at the cause!" He explained. Ryu then knew what had to happen for them to win.

"Then you must go on yourself!" Ryu ordered. The Gunstringer was sure he had misheard, so he asked again to be sure. "What'd you say?!"

"I said you must go yourself!" Ryu repeated. "Go on and fight this menace, or we'll all die!"

"Why me?!" He asked. "Because you know more about this enemy than we do!" Ryu explained. "The rest of us will stay back and draw the attention of all the dolls!"

"I second that!" Shepard called out. "You can go alone!" The Gunstringer was now caught on the spot. He had to go, as by now, it was obvious everyone had heard the plan, and no one voiced any objections to it.

"You have my go ahead too!" Marius yelled, bashing through a huge amount of dolls with his shield before slashing them all with one clean swing. "You'll know better than any of us how to fight her!" Kasumi agreed, using her own swords to slash so fast, sometimes the dolls were destroyed before they even appeared. More support for that idea. Exactly what he wanted!

"Go!" Shepard shouted over an explosive going off to dispose of another oil machine. The Gunstringer looked around, but no one payed any more attention to him, all focused on making sure they didn't get hit by any of the dolls. Faced with no other choice, he ran.

He hated this idea so much, and he didn't know why. It was just so infuriating that he had to confront her again!

For a puppet, or just in general, the Gunstringer was very fast. He could cover a lot of ground with very few steps, and it wasn't like he had poor balance or anything. Hell, he was still firing at more dolls further up the path, and hitting all his targets, not getting hit once as he raced up the mountain.

It wasn't long before he finally arrived to the centre, where she was waiting for him already, as if she had expected a one on one from the start.

"It's nice to see you again." She began. "How about we cut the chit-chat. Ya know why I'm here, right?" She sighed. "You know, I had hoped we could start over again. Turn over a new leaf, like the old days."

The Gunstringer wasn't interested in what he viewed as half-baked crazy talk, and he let his feelings be known.

"Save yer voice!" He barked. She seemed highly offended, but not all angry...

"Well, if you're going to be like that about it, then I regret ever associating with you!" She shrieked, as dolls began to float up all around him. "This arena will be your grave!" She then sent all the dolls flying at him, giving him very little time to react. He was able to avoid most of them, and, taking out his revolvers, he began firing at the rest, destroying anything that got close.

The Gunstringer wasted no time in firing like crazy at her, while she tried to fly over him, firing blasts of voodoo magic at him. He rolled away from the blasts and returned fire, but she was quick. Despite getting plenty of good shots in, the Gunstringer was hit in the face by another blast of voodoo magic, knocking him off balance. He had barely enough time to steady himself before he found himself targeted by a doll, Mictecacihuatl cackling as she threw it. The Gunstringer aimed one expertly placed shot and got rid of the projectile just like that, it was gone. The Priestess let out an angered shout before firing more voodoo magic at him. He wasn't getting hit though, as he kept jumping and firing, making sure none of the projectiles even got close.

She could see his strategy though, trying to close down the gap and make it much harder for her to keep track of him. She had a plan exactly for that, beginning to spin around as a black haze surrounded the lower half of her body, then she charged for the skeleton. He fired a shot that ricocheted off her, before being hit himself. He was knocked back, but it wasn't enough to deter him, as he ran in, fueled solely by bitter anger, and whacked her across the side of her face with one of his revolvers, causing her to jerk her head. She quickly grabbed his arm though, and in a display equally as savage, she sunk her teeth into his arm.

It wasn't so much the pain of the bite, but the shock that she would do something so vicious that shocked the Gunstringer, and it was enough to make him drop the gun he had hit her with. He quickly got his arm out of her mouth and dropped to the ground, rolling away from any potential attacks.

They never came, as she forcefully threw his gun across the arena and returned her focus to him. The look on her face though...it wasn't...entirely angry?

He was caught thinking too much about it, and she was already launching attacks. Taking advantage of his halved firepower, she began launching streams of smaller dolls, with the pins facing outwards, knowing he couldn't shoot them all down now.

That didn't stop him from trying though, as he started firing and took out several of the dolls with his lone revolver, before realizing the situation was getting dire. He jumped out of the way of the rest, but they were already coming back. They had split up too, forcing him to divert his attention, which became overwhelming. He began firing one shot each side, left, right, left, right, but too many on the right forced him to back up and begin opening fire to just the one side. That proved to be a mistake though, as his lack of attention to the left side resulted in a barrage of successful hits, followed up by hits to the right as he couldn't focus on firing at anything while he was under intense assault. To top it all off, a blast of voodoo magic to the back knocked him on his face, and though he quickly picked himself up, it wasn't quick enough.

The Voodoo Priestess cackled again as she sent another doll careening towards the Gunstringer, now defenceless and only able to watch as the doll was only getting faster the closer it got to him.

He couldn't react fast enough, as the doll nailed him head on, sending him crashing to the ground. The Gunstringer cursed his bad luck and then remembered something, as his landing reminded him of something...

As she prepared another giant doll to throw at him, the Gunstringer didn't want to spoil the surprise straight away. He began another direct run at her which seemed to be his only option, at least to her. He was faced with no other option, both his revolvers too far out of his reach. She did feel a pang of sadness as she watched him so determined to win. He was literally defenceless, but even then he wouldn't admit defeat, especially not to her. Why was she thinking so much about it? Better to just get it overwith!

She screamed and forced the doll forward, hurtling towards him like a bullet train.

It was a mighty good thing she hadn't counted on a third gun. Reaching for the back of his poncho, he pulled out the shotgun and fired. It completely obliterated the doll, time slowing down as fabric and splints went everywhere. Through it all, he could see her look. It was genuine shock on her face, either not knowing about, or having forgotten entirely that he had a shotgun. She quickly regained her composure though, and she was trying to pick up another doll, but the Gunstringer got the better of her. He fired the shotgun, a deadly slug coming from the barrel and shooting across the arena, into her shoulder. Time remained slow, and somehow got even slower.

It was fragments of bone this time, that flew through the air. Her right arm was seemingly suspended mid air, a look of horror on her face as the realization of what had happened just sank in.

Time picked up again, she fell to the ground, allowing the Gunstringer plenty of time to pick up his revolvers and put them back in their holsters, then put his shotgun back behind his poncho, before he walked up to the Lady of the Dead. She was still clutching her shoulder, but slowly getting to her feet. She was still on her knees by the time the Gunstringer made his way over, and he had both his revolvers back in his hands. He put one of them back, and pointed the other at her, never faltering as he slowly walked towards her,

As she stared down the barrel of his gun, waiting for him to pull the trigger and put her six feet under for the last time, she thought about what could have been. Maybe if she had not betrayed him, things would be better. Perhaps they would've been alright together. Just the two of them against the world...

"Go." He said. Just the one word. Nothing else. She looked surprised, but didn't say anything. "Get the hell away from all them nasty characters. It ain't good for ya."

"But where will I go?" She asked. "None o' my concern. Just skedaddle." She paused, not knowing what to think of the proposal which had been put before her. "Well? What're ya watin' on, Chinese new year? Beat it!" He almost fired a warning shot, but stopped himself, as she got to her feet, picking up her arm and moving away. As she was going, she kept looking back at the Gunstringer, maybe to see if he would move at all, or maybe to try a surprise attack.

Or maybe she wanted to say something. But she just couldn't bring herself to say it. His cold stare met her eyes every time, as she moved farther and farther away. She eventually stopped looking back. Strangely, she didn't start floating at all. Maybe a lack of energy, maybe a choice to make the journey away as slow as possible, the Gunstringer didn't know. What he did know, however, was that he was feeling that same way again.

Hurt.

It hadn't gone away. Oh no. It was still there, and still strong inside him. He cursed her, cursed her for ever forcing him to feel this way. His grip became so tight on his revolver that his hand began to tremble, but yet nothing else happened. As her prescence grew weaker, the normal weather returned, with the sun beginning to set as it returned to sight.

It wasn't long after that he was finally found, having taken some time to rest after a long fight. It was Shepard who had come up to get him.

"Hey, it's time to go." She told him. From her response, it seemed as though she knew of the history between the Gunstringer and Mictecacihuatl, but neither said anything more on the matter. The Gunstringer turned and nodded, fixing his hat. "I understand. We best be goin' home now." He took one last look over his shoulder, wondering how far away she'd be by now.

Was he a fool to let her go so easily? Surely she would be back to her old tricks in no time, gone back to ARIA and the Shadowman, albeit with her tail tucked between her legs, but no doubt looking for round 2 the moment she was ready to do so.

Or maybe she would give up. Maybe that was one failure too many for her. Maybe she would go back to the underworld, maybe she would find a place to live, or maybe the world would just forget about her. He didn't know, but...but...

He couldn't say he didn't still care.

 _ **Author's Note**_

I actually had to watch Gunstringer playthroughs to figure out what was going on with the Lady of the Dead, and that was where I realized the Gunstringer has probably never in his life heard of reloading. Good on him though. Also, I know they're probably not voodoo dolls, but it made the most sense to me to have it as that, because them being actual live people raised a lot of logical inconsistencies. So what happens to Mictecacihuatl? Probably ded, just cos I don't want to keep copypasting that name :P

Nah, I'm kidding, she'll be back, but I won't say when, or what she'll do from here on out.

And yeah, Cinder showed up for a little while, and he found someone equally as crazy as he is. What can I say, I had the idea one morning and I loved it too much to just let it be a crazy idea.

Hope y'all like it, I'm gonna try and be way more productive now, hope to have nine more chapters up by the end of June, while I'm really enjoying writing.


	29. Inkwell Hell Round 2

It had been a few days since the team had been sent by Cortana to Inkwell Hell to capture the Devil.

The team consisted of Cuphead, Mugman, Kaim, the Jack, Blinx, Chief, Dovahkiin, Doomguy, Shovel Knight and Death's Hand.

"This is the realm of the pretender." The Jack said to himself. It was like a sigh of annoyance. The cartoonish nature of the place seemed to signify, at least to him, that the Devil wasn't very competent at all.

"Keep vigilant. We don't know what could be lurkin in the shadows." Death's Hand warned, much to the annoyance of the Jack. He wasn't fond of the fully armoured assassin, and even though he had been on the receiving end of a beating which should've been an indicator that maybe Death's Hand deserved some respect, the Jack chose to regard him as nothing more than another piece of scum in his way of ultimately having control over the entire universe.

"Eh, he's okay I guess. I wouldn't worry too much about it." Cuphead shrugged. "Yeah, he's not exactly a huge threat. Just be careful around him." Mugman agreed.

To Shovel Knight and Dovahkiin, for the only two in the group with any experience against the Devil to write him off so casually said almost as much about them as it did about the main opponent. "I think we should still be vigilant. You never know, he could surprise us this time." Cuphead had to stop himself from laughing at that, though Mugman wasn't laughing at all. Instead, he turned around and spoke to them. "Well, maybe you're right. But my brother and I would doubt that, he's not exactly very smart. It's his right hand man you have to watch out for."

Chief was listening. "Cortana told me. King Dice, isn't it? He runs a casino down here I'm told." Mugman nodded. "Yeah, though that kinda concerns me."

"How so?" Chief asked. "Well, the last time we were here, we were forced to go through every grunt working at the casino. But now...I don't see anyone trying to stop us."

Chief understood. "You think that we might run into a trap?" He asked. "Or that we might have been beaten here." Mugman added. As it dawned on Chief, he realized that Mugman might very well have been right. "Let's move!" Chief called out to the rest of the Elite, running in the direction he knew the Devil's office was.

Sure enough, there was another team in Inkwell Hell.

A smaller team, but an experienced one in Inkwell, the members were Nemesis, Naughty, Cooper, Saya, Irisu, Reimu, Marisa and Shu.

"Staaaars..." Nemesis growled. He seemed to recognize the place somewhat, though he didn't like it. "Shu, I don't think I'll ever see a place as bizarre as this." Blue Dragon muttered. "I agree." Shu nodded, noting the cartoon feel to the whole place. "Still, at least we made it here without much trouble." Cooper tried to reason, though none of them really bought into that. They were here now, and that of course meant a challenge soon, and likely a very tough challenge too. "Well, whatever it is, we're just gonna have to beat the crap out of it as fast as we can so we don't even give it the time to attack us back!" Marisa cracked her knuckles. "Well, if he really is an unholy demon, then it'll be right up our alley." Reimu said, her assessment far more calm and reasonable.

Marisa still hadn't said anything to Reimu since she had to be helped to recover from her trauma. But her feelings were still as strong.

"Marisa, you've done this too, right? We should take this in our stride!" Reimu smiled. Marisa stared for a moment. "Uh...y-y-yeah..." She nodded in response. Ugh, what was that? She'd just made a fool out of herself in front of the rest of the Elite, hadn't she?

No one seemed to care. "Anyway, does anyone know what to expect?" Cooper asked, not wanting to wind up looking like a fool by rushing in with his fists flying only to end up on his ass. Saya, Irisu and Naughty were the only three with that kind of experience, and only two of those could speak.

"I was there the last time. Most of them should still be recovering from their injuries from then." Saya explained.

They didn't bother to ask what had caused those injuries, just content with the knowledge that they wouldn't have to do too much work. "So are you sure we won't have to break much of a sweat against these guys?" Shu asked. Saya shrugged. "Not sure. But I hope so."

* * *

Up in the Devil's Office, the man himself was growing impatient. News of the Elite's arrival had broke, and he was not one bit pleased.

"DICE!"

"Yes sir?" The Devil jumped upon realizing that his assistant was right behind him. "Dice, not only have those pests come back for round 2, not only have they brought more with them, but there's also two groups! How do you propose we deal with this when half the army's in intensive care?!"

King Dice laughed while fixing his bowtie. "Well now sir, there's hope for us. Y'see, those two different groups, they don't really like each other. They're competing against each other, to see which one of them could bring you down." The Devil began to think. "So...what you're saying is...they might try to fight each other?"

"Precisely!" Dice confirmed. "So all we gotta do is just lead them towards one another, and well, they'll fight like cat n' dog." He explained. "Then, when they're all tuckered out from fightin', we can just get them all without even tryin'!"

The Devil chuckled. "I like this plan. I like it a lot. "Anyway, I took your advice as well. Some of the debtors agreed to help out here if it meant their souls returned and cash reward." King Dice raised his eyebrows.

"Well sir, that sounds terrific. But who exactly did ya get to come back?" King Dice asked. "Two of them." The Devil said. "Aside from the clown, I got the giant flower and the mermaid to come back."

"Cala Maria and Cagney Carnation?" King Dice remembered. "With all due respect sir, could you not have got more than two?" The Devil shook his head. "All the others didn't wanna come back. Said they'd take their chances with a monkey in a suit before they took their chances with me."

King Dice had to stop himself from laughing. "That wouldn't be a bad decision by comparison!" He wanted to say. But he couldn't say it.

Not yet, at least.

* * *

Cortana's Elite made short work of the henchmen, with Shovel Knight and Death's Hand sending Spinal packing, and the rest concentrating on Cala Maria.

Then Doomguy noticed Green Heart's Elite out of the corner of his eye. "I'm going after those other bastards!" He yelled, charging off towards them without a second thought and before anyone could stop him. "No, stop!" Dovahkiin tried to call him back, but to no avail.

They had been hoping to avoid conflict with the other side, on the basis that they were here for the Devil, and manpower used on anything else would be as good as wasted.

Doomguy's decision to run off on his own proved to be fruitful, at least for what he wanted, as it wasn't long before he ran into Green Heart's side of the Elite.

Reimu and Marisa were continuing to fight off Gengetsu, and the others were fighting off Cagney, except for Nemesis. He took note of Doomguy, and quickly decided that he would rather fight him than Cagney. He took off his rocket launcher and remembered what to do, forming the first half of an X. Doomguy used his arm and formed the second half, starting a fight that was sure to be close.

Doomguy and Nemesis seemed like a match made in heaven. For a fight, anyway. That much was obvious. Doomguy had dreams about getting to beat the shit out of something like Nemesis, while Nemesis was only concerned with making sure Doomguy didn't try to take him as a trophy.

Either way, a fight was unavoidable, and the two wasted no time in initiating said fight.

They both started screaming and then firing guns at one another. Nemesis took out his minigun while Doomguy did the same, and both unloaded as many bullets as they could into the other. Doomguy's mobility provided a clear advantage as he was able to circle the brute and fire from all angles, no doubt confusing the hell out of Nemesis, who wasn't taking kindly to being viciously assaulted in the manner that he was.

He began beating his chest, and lowering his shoulder, then he charged for Doomguy. "STAAAAAAAAARSSS!" He yelled, picking up a surprising amount of momentum for a big guy. Doomguy was already considering a change up in weaponry, as the minigun didn't seem to slow him down.

He switched to a shotgun, and making sure it was loaded, he took aim, though taking his time cost him dearly. As soon as he looked up, he was nailed by Nemesis, who drove him against a rock and began to take out his rage.

He launched a devasting punch at his head, connecting with the helmet, but Doomguy came prepared. He punched Nemesis in the gut and then, realizing he had lost his shotgun, took out his chainsaw. Revving it up and laughing, Doomguy started swinging wildly, hitting Nemesis in multiple places. Though Nemesis had his own trick. He could feel his meter building up, and despite his limited understanding of how everything worked, he knew he could use that much.

He grabbed Doomguy's arm which held the chainsaw, and surprised the testosterone fueled maniac with his strength. He then launched his head forward and took a bite out of Doomguy's shoulder, causing the usually tough guy to grunt in pain and start wildly punching Nemesis' head. It worked for the most part, as Nemesis reeled away, but he was back screaming in an instant. An instant, however, was all Doomguy needed. He used his speed to get away, giving Nemesis only enough time to turn around before he could see what Doomguy was doing.

He had his Plasma Gun at the ready, and was already firing like mad, cell after cell hitting Nemesis, and unlike the Minigun, the Plasma Gun was managing to stagger him. He grunted as he had to take a step backwards to stop himself for falling over, and was already going for his main weapon. The rocket launcher came off his shoulder and was already in his arms as Doomguy was starting to feel the effects of the T-Virus. Nemesis fired a shot in retalliation, and successfully struck Doomguy, though he was already after taking more than a few blows himself by that point.

As Doomguy picked himself up and took out his own rocket launcher, Nemesis took note of a small green item floating down from above him, like an angel had sent it or something. He didn't really know what it was, but it was pretty shiny. A wonder his opponent hadn't noticed it, but that was probably because Doomguy had a few less brain cells than a bacon sandwich. Nemesis ignored whatever little rational thinking that was going on in his head and moved as quickly as he could, albeit still not very quickly, to get this item before Doomguy noticed and decided he wanted it.

Doomguy was busy firing his rocket launcher at Nemesis, feeling his own meter build up to an incredible level. He wasn't even sure if it would fill up much more than it already had, and he was getting visions of using a very familiar weapon when he closed his eyes.

"Come on, I am DOOMGUY!" He yelled to himself through gritted teeth, loving every second of it as more and more rockets flew out of the launcher. But strangely, Nemesis wasn't trying to fight back. He was actually moving towards something else, not even going to Doomguy. It took the marine a moment to see it, but when he did, he began to race over.

A green vial. Doomguy remembered Cortana saying something about it, but he couldn't remember what she said, but he remembered enough to know that he didn't want Nemesis anywhere near the vial. It had bad idea written all over it.

Doomguy didn't take long to make it over to Nemesis, scratching off the problem of making it to the place where the vial would land, but he quickly ran into his next problem.

It wasn't often someone made Doomguy feel small, but boy, Nemesis made him look like a twelve year old by comparison. The guy must have been at least seven feet tall, and that was a minimum guess. Trying to outjump him was completely out of the question.

Doomguy went for the route one approach, preparing his hardest knuckle sandwich for the mutant beast. He screamed and let fly, making a solid connection with Nemesis' gut. He cried out, clearly wounded by the attack, but he stood his ground and retalliated, punching Doomguy so hard he flew back at least ten feet. Worst of all for Doomguy, Nemesis had the vial in his hand. He stared at it, the unintelligent beast unable to figure out what he was going to do with it, so he did the only sensible thing someone could do in that situation, and swallowed the whole vial.

Doomguy saw a clear opportunity, a perfect chance, and all he needed to do was use his one final move. He was somewhat relieved, having finally built up enough of his meter to get to use his prized possession, and he wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

Activating it, a familiar weapon appeared in his hands. Nemesis was starting to glow green and kneel down, like he was going to get sick at any moment. Perfect time to steal victory with the BFG-9000.

"Say hello to the Big Fuckin' Gun you parasitic shit!" Doomguy yelled in the most macho way possible, before firing the dreaded weapon.

The shot travelled towards the Nemesis like a freight train full of dynamite, ready to ruin any chance of him coming away from the fight atill standing on his own two feet. The blast hit. It was like a mini-nuke, with the blast completely engulfing everything within forty square feet of the blast radius, Doomguy even having to run back to avoid the range of the explosion. Looking back though, he was thankful to have gotten out in one piece, knowing what the BFG was capable of doing to even the toughest of demons.

So when you see something like Nemesis get hit, you're naturally going to assume...

You're naturally going to assume...

Going to...

* * *

"Now!" Reimu yelled as a storm of ofuda blinded Gengetsu again. Marisa had already charged up a Master Spark, and now that she had such a clear chance to hit, she wasn't going to waste it.

She fired, and instantly it seemed like Gengetsu had been beaten. She fell to the ground in a heap, holding her bruised shoulder and staring at the duo with a look of bitterness and hatred. Her lower lip began to tremble with the realization that she had lost yet again to the Hakurei Shrine Maiden and the Ordinary Magician. She then began to bawl her eyes out as she flew away, humiliated that those two got to see her like that.

It was typical of Gengetsu though, she always put up that front of being a tough and mature girl until something went wrong for her, at which point she would just break into a massive temper tantrum.

"Well, I guess that's over." Reimu remarked before turning to Marisa. "Nice to see you've made a full recovery. That was great!" She smiled. Marisa awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. "Ah ha...couldn't have done it without you..." Marisa stopped. She had said something to Reimu without stuttering. Her heart was racing. Was she getting more confident? Oh wow...it really wouldn't be long before-

"Marisa?" Marisa jumped. She had just completely spaced out, and in front of Reimu too! Oh no...

"Are you ok? Come on, we still have to wait for the other fight to finish, then we can get what we came for." Marisa was expecting a somewhat more serious tone, but she only heard Reimu using a soft and sweet voice, even laughing as the witch came around to the realization that she had spaced out.

"Do we really have to wait?" Shu asked, getting impatient. Beppi the clown wasn't exactly providig much of a challenge, now that he was on his own, he just kept repeating that he surrendered to them.

"We'll need everyone to take down King Dice and the Devil." Irisu explained.

Shu shrugged. "Alright, that's fair. I hope they hurry up and finish the fight though..."

* * *

Nemesis hadn't been killed. He hadn't even been staggered. The giant crater around him seemingly meant nothing, he just looked really angry.

Really different too. He was way bigger for a start. At least five feet bigger than he usually was, and given how tall he usually was, that made him gargantuan. Especially when you considered the other changes to his physique, which made him even larger.

He looked more like an animal now, his two feet resembled the hind legs of a frog, and he had a long tail which he swung around blindly, seemingly unaware of his surroundings. His neck was longer, and he had a disgusting looking ribcage on his back for some reason. His face was much more spread out, his mouth becoming much bigger and like a bird's beak, only his mouth was still lined with sharp teeth. There were plenty of tendrils flying everywhere, threatening to kill anything that came too close. He let out animalistic roar and began to make his way out of the crater. Doomguy opened fire with his minigun, hoping to hit his target as many times as possible, though that proved to be a huge mistake, as the bullets did nothing other than attract Nemesis' attention. He screamed and fired one of his tendrils, piercing Doomguy's gut like a harpoon. He then followed up by drawing Doomguy in close, and spitting acid at him, severely weakening the already hurt macho man. He then threw him on the ground and began to stomp on Doomguy again and again and again. If the fight were not bound by the rules of the Microsoft Elite, then it would have been safe to say Doomguy would've been a big red mess all over the ground by now. Even so, Doomguy had to resort to crawling away, hoping Nemesis didn't notice him. To be fair, he got far enough, but Nemesis didn't let him get away, oh no. He was simply toying with his prey, but now it was time for the finishing blow.

Nemesis grabbed Doomguy's left leg and dragged him back towards his grossly mutated form. Doomguy was already starting to sweat as Nemesis held him upside down, close enough to his face that the two made eye contact.

"Uh, mercy?" Doomguy suggested. "AAAAAAAAAAAA!" Nemesis screamed, obviously not interested in negotiating. What he was about to do would be much more fun and interesting anyway.

He wrapped the other tendril around Doomguy's other leg and began to pull in opposite directions. Doomguy began to scream as his body was slowly pulled apart, before Nemesis finally broke through and perfectly snapped his whole body in half, fron his crotch all the way through his skull, with a satisfying splat as guts spilled out onto the ground when his body finally split in half. Nemesis himself had blood all over his front, but that didn't concern him. He momentarily stared disinterestedly at the two halves, both still splurting blood at regular intervals, before he discarded them both and walked off.

The disturbing thing was, when Nemesis returned, he hadn't calmed down. He was still in that form. "Hey, look at that!" Shu pointed. "He still hasn't calmed down!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Nemesis screamed. It was enough that the only goon left, Beppi, was completely forgotten by the Elite. He was absolutely petrified at the sight of the beast.

"What do we do know?!" Cooper consulted the rest of the group. "We can't kill him, he's too important!" Reimu argued. "But we can't leave him destroy everything!" Saya countered. She looked to him, before knowing exactly what she was going to do.

Irisu read her next move too. "Saya, don't..." She tried to reason, but she had done too little too late. Saya was already mutating into her own grotesque form. Seeing _that_ form again absolutely disgusted her, to the point that her stomach couldn't take it. She hunched over and vomited, trying to use her hat to block out the sight of her.

Beppi finally found it in him to attempt a run for it, but it was too late. Saya saw him, and she wouldn't let him go. Her tentacles were thicker and shorter than Nemesis' tendrils, but they did a good job all the same. She wrapped one around him and pulled him close, seeing him completely terrified as he tried to break free. Spores were already sinking into his skin as she dropped him, beginning the horrific mutation process. He simply didn't have a chance, as his horrific fate was unavoidable now. His stomach began to bloat, his head was tucking into the rest of his body, one arm got shorter while the other got longer, and his skin began to peel off, as a substance created by the spores took its place, leaving behind a miserable looking pile of flesh that was once Beppi. He was once terrified, but now he was just in agony. All he wanted now was for it all to end, it didn't even matter how.

His mercy call was answered, as the tentacle picked him up again and inserted him whole into what looked like her mouth. It was hard to tell, it was the orifice lined with the most teeth though, so probably a safe assumption.

Within a minute, Beppi the clown was no more, and Saya refocused on Nemesis as if nothing had happened.

Then, she attacked.

* * *

The Devil pounded his fist against the desk again, this time visibly nervous. "Damn it! Well, that plan didn't work at all!" He fumed. "That was about as effective as just giving up would've been!"

"Oh well." King Dice seemed very indifferent. "What can you do?" He was packing a suitcase, and taking the duo of Gengetsu and Spinal with him. "I'm afraid I must be going."

"Hm?" The Devil seemed confused. "Again? When can I expect you back?" That was where the laughter stopped. "Oh sir, I hope there's no hard feelings."

"How long, Dice?!" The Devil demanded, pounding his fist against the desk.

"Well sir, thing is...this trip...it's a bit on the permanent side timewise." King Dice explained. The Devil was furious. So angry he couldn't even express it. "Oh now, don't take it too personally. I'll make sure to send ya somethin' nice from Ultratech. Honestly sir, I'm kinda disappointed. I get a big break to go to some fancy high tech modern company where I can prove myself, I figured you'd be a little happier for me."

"...Dice..." The Devil was seething with rage. "I'll have you sent down for this! YOU'RE FINISHED HERE DICE! DON'T COME CRAWLING BACK TO ME WHEN THINGS GO SOUTH!"

King Dice chuckled. "It's not good to be so worked up all the time. You'll surely burst a blood vessel, though, if that happens, I'll put a word in for ya with the boss." Laughing to himself, he clicked his fingers and was gone like that, leaving the Devil pretty much on his own.

From down below, Cortana's Elite could hear the commotion, they knew something was after happening. "Guys...I think Dice finally dumped the old man! Let's kick his butt!" Cuphead cracked his knuckles, eager to kick the demon while he was down. Master Chief, on the other hand, was thinking. "No." The Spartan had an idea. "Let's go with my plan. I want the Jack and Sun Kin to come with me. The rest of you get to the entrance."

Chief burst into the room. "Come on, we're taking you out of here!" He had his energy sword out, and was pointing it at the Devil. "What do you mean by that?!" The Devil snarled. "I mean that we're here to take you for some questions!" Chief shot back. "You won't get me so easily, just try me!" The Devil folded his arms. "Well, maybe you'd like to go with those two instead?!" Chief pointed to Saya and Nemesis, both in extremely mutated forms, neither of them looking too approachable. The Devil's eyes darted back and forth, as the Jack and Death's Hand entered the room. "It is most fortunate we should meet under these circumstances. We do not need to fight, and thanks to our common enemies fighting amongst themselves, we can possibly make a clean getaway." Sun Kin explained.

The Devil knew he was under severe pressure, and like it or not, he wasn't going to make it out of here a free man. So what was better? A fight to the bitter end against those two behemoths which he had absolutely no chance of winning, or the indignity of voluntary surrender?

"Alright, alright, you've got me." He grumbled. "Excellent." Chief replied. "Now, let's get moving."

After that, the three were able to escort the Devil to the entrance to Inkwell Hell with very little trouble, only having to take care at the start of their journey to avoid attracting the attention of Saya and Nemesis. As soon as that was done, getting back to the entrance was a breeze. "Well, I suppose you at least deserve my thanks for not leaving me there. But don't think it means anything as far as my loyalty goes!" All of the Elite were bewildered by that remark. "You mean to say the people who conspired to dispose of you as soon as they got the chance are still your go to?" Chief asked. Only upon hearing it relayed back to him did the Devil realize how utterly moronic that sounded, but he still wouldn't admit that.

Looking around, the Elite were all wary of him, on edge, expecting some kind of trick. But it was the Devil himself who was in for a surprise, seeing two people he hoped he would never see again.

"Nice goin' guys! You caught him!" Cuphead cheered. "Oh no..." He groaned. He was sick at the sight of them, and seeing them now made it all the worse. "Careful guys, he could have anything hidden there." Mugman warned, obviously teasing the Devil. "Yeah! We should do a strip search! Take away all that hair to make sure there's not a bomb there!" Cuphead suggested.

"What?!" The Devil was ready to fight back, at which point the Elite all took out their weapons and pointed them at him. "Okay guys, we won't go _that_ far. I doubt he's hiding anything physical. Answers he might have though, well, Cortana will be interested in those."

"I bet he has all sorts of dirty secrets!" Cuphead taunted. "Can't wait to see-" "CAN IT PIPSQUEAK, OR I'LL-" "Okay, okay, that's enough, the three of you!" Chief warned. He sighed before continuing. "Anyway, we should get going. While Vert's group are still stuck down there."

With that, the group got a move on, before a third world war would break out between the cartoon characters.

* * *

Nemesis collapsed in a heap, exhausted from his fight, and reverted back to his original form. He needed to rest for a minute before going home, but they didn't mind. Inkwell Hell was pretty much abandoned at that point, no threat of surprise attack.

She reverted back to her human form and turned to the Elite, a huge smile on her face. "Well guys, what do you think? That wasn't bad, huh?"

No response. Saya looked around. "Guys...?"

Saya's expression soon turned to worry, as she saw the horrified looks on their faces, some disgusted, and some angry.

"That thing right there..." Cooper managed to steady his voice. "We've heard of that. From Irisu." He recalled. Marisa was shaking with anger, realizing what that meant. "And what you did to that clown...YOU were the one who killed those kids!" She screamed, pointing accusingly. "You heartless bitch!"

"Easy now. We don't know that yet, only one of us does." Cooper said, turning to Irisu. "Irisu. Is she the monster that killed those kids?" Irisu looked at the ground, with her hands clinging tightly to her skirt, before her eyes met Saya's. There was an almost pleading look in her eyes, a sharp contrast from the 'tell anyone and you're next' approach she had used earlier.

Irisu knew what the consequences would be for Saya if she said yes. Word would spread to everyone. There wouldn't be a person in Leanbox who didn't know she was the monster who had murdered four teenagers and driven their father to insanity. Then naturally, no one would want to associate with her. She would be ostracised from all groups in the Elite, only kept around for missions, and outside the Elite, it would get worse. People would of course avoid her, but it would go beyond that. Some people would give her nasty stares in public, some would berate her, and some would go as far as assault and public humiliation to exact revenge.

But who's to say it would stop there?

What if Green Heart decided that this made Saya unworthy of a place in the team? She could get kicked out, then hounded out of Leanbox, and where would that leave her? Maybe she would become a threat to the Elite in Green Heart's eyes. Then, with so many groups targetting her, she would surely be killed.

"Irisu?" Irisu snapped out of her trance-like thought and returned to reality. "Was Saya the monster?" Irisu really wanted to say no. But she would clearly be lying. It was obvious that everyone thought Saya was now, and they were only looking for the final nail in the coffin, so even if Irisu said no, it wasn't like things would go away. But saying yes...all those consequences...

"I..." Irisu started. "The monster I saw..."

"It was me." They all perked up at the sound of that. "What?" Even Marisa was surprised. "I said...it was me." Saya swallowed hard, knowing surely by now that she was in serious trouble.

The Elite were silent for a moment. Saya hung her head in shame, unable to look at her teammates. Irisu most of all, was speechless that Saya had thrown herself under the bus like that. It was completely unlike her. She had to at least try and defend Saya now, given what might happen. "But she must have chang-"

"There was no excuse for what I did. I want to say I'm sorry, but what good is that? It's my fault and mine alone. I brought this on myself. I understand if you guys don't want me to follow you back."

"Follow us back." It was Reimu who spoke up. "But we will need to tell everyone else this. They deserve to know." She said. Even the Shrine Maiden knew in her heart and head that such information getting out would ruin Saya, but the fact that she kept a secret for so long didn't help her.

Nemesis had gotten up by now, and was carrying Kaim and Doomguy, while Cooper carried Blinx. Everyone was silent, no one so much as uttering a word, even as a throwaway remark.

It was all a very clear sign that the walk home would be a very long and especially painful one.

 ** _Author's Note_**

So, there's a lot to get to.

Yeah, Cuphead's a cheeky bastard, that's just the way he is.

I'm still not sorry.

More Reimu/Marisa fluff, has Marisa gained some confidence though? This should be interesting.

For those of you wondering where Nemesis' fatality comes from, I saw a medieval torture method where the victim was hung upside down and two guys with a saw would start cutting the victim from the crotch area to the head. Not nice, I know, but at least Nemesis is quick. Oh yeah, and I should also say that he is 7' 3", while Doomguy is just 6'. I mean, that probably makes Nemesis the tallest member of the Elite in general, now that I think about it.

So King Dice did have something at Ultratech after all. I guess it beats working for he Devil. He was gonna betray the Devil eventually, I mean at least for me, that made too much sense for it not to happen. The Devil won't be switching sides, but he might know a vital thing or two...

Saya is finally exposed for child murder, and to be honest, it was initially supposed to happen earlier, but I wanted to give Saya some room to develop first before I layed down the consequences of that. What are they exactly? Well, won't be long until you see for yourself.

Last minute note: Just realized an error where I said 47 was going to Inkwell instead of Ultratech :P I guess I better fix it.


	30. Ascension

_Ascension Facility,_ _Siberia,_ _U.S.S.R._

 _DATE: 23/10/1963_

The remote flying saucer-like device they had found was taking them somewhere. It was a bizarre piece if engineering, with only some light bars on the sides of it to stop you from falling out, though it was more likely you would trip over them and fall out than them actually saving you.

But they were soon close enough to see their destination. The hammer and sickle was plastered across a rocket which lay dormant, yet towering above all else in the facility.

"The Ascension Facility." Richtofen explained. "After the second world war, the Soviets found Ultimus' diary und attempted to reach the moon base via rocket. This was their finest achievement, a fully functioning rocket with the potential to reach the moon." Nikolai should have been proud or his country for such a feat, but there was something inside him that made him feel a little empty. Kind of like the facility they neared. Maybe he felt some pride that communism could accomplish so much, but he could also recognize that this was done in pursuit of the work of an evil man, which made him a little sick.

But he had no more time to think about it. They were almost ready to disembark as the lander neared the ground. A computer's voice in English gave the go ahead, and informed them all that the lander would be charging.

Then a louder voice rang out through the facility. "Main power offline. Auxiliary power activated." It was heard to say, in English, strangely. "Wait, what the hell?" Tank began to notice how dark it was. Everything might as well have been in black and white for how dark it was. "We'll have to make it to the switch so we can have power again. No matter." Richtofen explained.

But the strangest thing of all was what happened next.

"Please...spare me." A voice begged. A voice they recognized. "She is coming...the mechanism must be repaired."

"I swear we've heard that voice before." Tank racked his brain for the memory. "Ja." Richtofen confirmed. "At Stalingrad, he held vital information. He does here too. We must work to release him. But what mechanism does he speak of?" Nikolai wondered.

"He speaks of the Casimir Mechanism. It is a vital part of our fight against him, absolutely indisposable." Nikolai didn't like the idea of more technology being involved, but he understood the need for it. "Well, less wasting time around here then. I wanna get out of this place asap." Dempsey began to move towards the nearest set of stairs, hoping to make it to a place where he could see. For once, no one had any objections to the plan. Just keep moving.

When they got locked and loaded, it was the same business as usual. Running across the abandoned courtyards with zombies pouring out of every possible gap, only to get mowed down with no regard for their own safety, but there was an added melancholy this time. Something made it that bit different from every other time they were killing zombies, but none of them could pinpoint what it was.

They knew where they were going, or at least, Richtofen knew where they were going. He lead them through some control rooms before they arrived at the top of some stairs, with a switch in plain sight. Richtofe pulled it, while the other three turned their attention to the Mystery Box at the back of the room.

When the colour and light returned, things were more familiar, but at feeling they first got wouldn't wash away.

 ** _I can fly like a bird not in the sky_**

Richtofen tried the box, and ended up getting strange looking devices with four legs, buttons on the front and warning tape around the edges. The Gersh Device. Exactly what he was looking for.

 ** _which can always swim and always dry_**

Nikolai's turn, and the Russian was greeted with an enourmous gun. At least he knew he'd be able to hold it right, as he had used it before. The Thundergun.

 ** _I say goodbye at night and morning hi_**

He tried again as the other three covered for him, this time getting Matryoshka Dolls. Fortunately for him, he knew by now that the box always gave either explosives or guns, and knowing they were explosive, he was content. Richtofen took note, and called out to his team. "Now, let us begin Step 1!"

 ** _I'm part of you, what am I_**

It was a large ugly box in the middle of a puddle outside the facility, but Richtofen assured them it was part of the mechanism the voice had talked about. He tossed a Gersh Device at it, and the box was sucked in.

 ** _I follow and lead as you pass_**

The computer voice from the start rang out again, saying something about the start of a process, but also saying thwre was 'no power'. Bizarre, as that was seemingly what they had just done.

But then, the voice of the trapped man spoke again. "You've done it! Now, it needs as much power as possible. Hurry, she's getting nearer!"

 ** _dress yourself in black my darkness lasts_**

Richtofen ran off to his next objective, ignoring any warnings he had from the other three, who were left to fend for themselves and defend against the undead.

 ** _I flee the light, but without the sun_**

He raced across to the other side of the courtyard, which looked like a complete dump. Little did anyone know, one of the pieces of scrap thete was the Casimir Mechanism itself, an ingenious disguise. That wasn't what he was interested in though. He saw an empty station for the lander, and pressed the button to call the lander, before going to do what he had come for. He ran over to the computer near the Kassimir Mechanism which was already making bizarre noises and turned it on. The computer voice rang out again, signifting that yet another step had been completed. The man as well confirmed his progress. "Three more! No, stop it!" He cried out. Whatever it was that was trying to kill him was getting close.

 ** _Your view of me would be gone and_**

 ** _I_** ** _can see the damage that_** **_I_**

He was getting swarmed by this point, so to get on the lander was his new priority. He had to kill more than a few with his MP40, but he was safely on the lander, returning to the poing where they had first disembarked.

 ** _am causing you is so benign_**

"Look!" Nikolai pointed, still with the other two. They too were near a lander station, but weren't sure how to use it. They could see Richtofen on the lander going back to the starting point though, and were smart enough to figure our that was a part of his plans.

 ** _You want me to be gone_**

They kept firing away, when eventually Richtofen made his way back to them, tossing another Gersh Device as he reached them. The black hole created gave Richtofen very valuable time to explain his plan in full.

 ** _but I have just be-_**

 ** _G_** ** _UN!_**

It took another Gersh Device to create additional time, but the plan was all laid out. Every man knew his job, and they were fully confident they could carry it out with no failure.

 ** _I am the only one undone_**

Now it was time to kill the undead though. Dempsey activated a trap in one of the gateways which sectioned off the courtyard, causing flames the erupt from below, creating instant death for anything that passed through.

 ** _I'm a broken miracle now_**

Richtofen used the Lander again, but this time from the place where he had left his three companions, while Takeo and Nikolai stayed there fighting off the undead. Takeo stayed back, giving Nikolai the perfect opportunity to use the Thundergun.

 ** _In your head_**

He fired a huge blast of compressed air, the like of which could not be created naturally. The zombies went flying backwards, giving Nikolai a reason to smile. "You picked the wrong country to infect, you filthy rats!"

 ** _I don't feel_**

 ** _Like I am real_**

 ** _But I know it's all imaginary_**

Richtofen in the meantime was racing up to the final position. Past the room where he had turned on the power, down a flight of stairs and up another, he finally arrived in position, and he called the lander.

 ** _Are they real_**

They never stopped coming for him. Even with his MG42, he still struggled to hold them all off, but it was enough in the end. He boarded the lander and returned to the same point again, but this time the computer began speaking. A green graphic of the rocket was flashing on some screens. Excellent news, knowing that they were a little closer to getting to their goal.

 ** _And do they feel_**

 ** _Is all the pain_**

 ** _Just inside my head_**

Nikolai threw one of his Matryoshka Dolls at the final few zombies, watching as more dolls popped out of the first one, making one explosion into five, and killing what looked like all the zombies.

Then the sky turned red.

 ** _I am what men love more than life_**

 ** _Fear more than death or mortal strife_**

Richtofen had said it would happen. The red sky was accompanied by lunar landers raining down across the facility, not containing average zombies, but instead containing monkeys. None of them liked the monkeys. The way they scampered around, the annoying noises they made, they were just awful.

 ** _What dead men have and rich require_**

Nikolai was standing by the last lunar lander Richtofeb had used. The other three were all apart too, waiting for what Richtofen said would happen.

 ** _I'm what contented men desire_**

Nikolai had found a sickle on top of a wall, and took an instant liking to it. He used it to skewer any monkeys that got too close before he saw it. A red button on the wall. He needed to hold it down and hope the others were also holding it down. Pressing it, it disappeared into the wall immediately, the computer confirming that.

"It needs to be more concentrated power for this to work!" The man cried.

 ** _Y_** ** _ou. Want me to be gone_**

"Excellent." Richtofen said to himself, killing off the last of the monkeys, signalling the return of the usual zombies. At least defeating the monkeys replenished their ammunition...what do you mean that makes no sense?

 ** _but I have just be-_**

 ** _GUN!_**

He raced off to regroup with th others, back in the room where the power was. There was a flashing red button which Richtofen pressed, causing the whole place to rumble.

"What is this?!" Takeo demanded. "Look!" Nikolai pointed to the rocket as it slowly began to rise into the air.

 ** _Y_** ** _ou will never know how far I've come_**

Racing out inti the part of the courtyard before the rocket, the four could see it taking off. To everyone's surprise, Nikolai shot it down with the Ice Staff. "What the hell were you thinking?" Dempsey demanded. "I didn't like it." Nikolai shrugged.

 ** _W_** ** _hat goes up must never come back down_**

It didn't matter anyway, as all that did was open up the area where the rocket once was. Nikolai was told that Pack-a-Punch was at the back, and so he went and upgraded the Thundergun, and it became the Zeus Cannon.

 ** _I don't feel_**

They had to watch over Richtofen as he stood on a pressure plate for two minutes, which somehow worked, confirmed yet again by the computer. No word from the man this time though.

 ** _Like I am real_**

 ** _But I know it's all imaginary_**

Now came the trickiest part. They had to fly the lander between the stations in a specific pattern that would in some weird way spell out 'LUNA'.

 ** _Are they real_**

 ** _And do they feel_**

Richtofen demonstrated his mastery again, getting more approval from the computer and another few words from the man. "Yes, YES! Almost there! Hurry! She's coming! LUNA!" The man screamed. "We gotta act fast!" Tank ordered. Richtofen agreed. "Back to the mechanism!"

 ** _Is all the pain_**

 ** _Just inside my head_**

The mechanism had four glowing nodes, and a small glowing spark on the ground next to it. The last step.

 ** _it's all inside my head_**

"One last step." Richtofen explained, tossing the Gersh Device. As soon as it opened up, they took out their staffs, Nikolai threw some Matryoshkas in, and it was overall a huge encapsulation of power. Enough to make the spark start rising high into the sky.

 ** _it's just inside my_**

 ** _it's all inside my_**

The computer spoke again, telling them the mechanism had indeed been repaired. A huge relief to all of them, no doubt. The Casimir Mechanism, despite how difficult it was to fix, was finally repaired.

 ** _they're all inside my_**

"Ah yes, I'm free! I cannot thank you enough for releasing me from this horrible place." The voice cheered. "Now!" Richtofen was already racong back. "To the Pack-a-Punch machine!"

 ** _I see them always but they're_**

 ** _all inside my head_**

 ** _all inside my head_**

 ** _they're all inside my_** **_head._**

There was adrenaline racing through the veins of every single one of them as the situation became worse, the race back to the Pack-a-Punch nearing its conclusion which didn't at all look like it would end well for Primis. Despite the best efforts of all of them, it seemed like the numbers were multiplying, especially when they got to the launch pad. Richtofen was hoping to get what he wanted done asap, but he knew that he could slow down the undead temporarily by allowing their bodies to pile up.

 ** _It's killing me_**

 ** _to see I'm killing you_**

 ** _death is magic say_**

 ** _Abra Cadavre now_**

The zombies were starting to pile up, even with Richtofen throwing another Gersh Device he was only afforded so much time, before he gave the order. "Now Nikolai, shoot the wall!" Nikolai obliged and blew the wall to pieces, creating a huge cloud of dust.

 ** _you see me now you_**

As soon as the wall was blown wide open, Richtofen ran inside, and another man began to step into sight. Sure enough, the other three could hear the sound of Richtofen booting up a teleporter, showing how fine the details in his plan were.

 ** _don't cry when I am_**

 ** _gone_**

The man stepped out into full view when the smoke from the wall cleared. An aging man, stocky and bald, dressed like a weird hybrid of cosmonaut and scientist, wielding a minigun and stepping out of the room which in addition to the teleporter, held four more minguns. "This is Gersh." Richtofen explained. Gersh looked far more calm than someone reasonably should have when fighting legions of undead, but perhaps he was just glad to be free.

"I will be back shortly. Gersh will fight alongside you while I am gone!" Richtofen explained before dialing in something on the teleporter only he would've understood before disappearing.

 ** _these shackles they come_**

"Hey you! Did you know Richtofen before all this?" Dempsey asked. Gersh shook his head. "I only learned of him at the same time I learned of the rest of you."

 ** _with certain opportunities_**

"Still, you appear to have much advanced knowledge on this plan." Nikolai commented. "How could you possibly have this unless you two were talking?"

 ** _they won't let me get away_**

 ** _but they show me we're the sam_** ** _e_**

"It was our plan to go to the moon. We had no idea what lay in wait for us." Gersch explained. "I can only hope you will stop it."

 ** _we're the same_**

 ** _we're the same_**

The roaring of zombies interrupted their conversation, as Gersh and the others picked up a minigun each and began to turn the tide on the rapidly advancing hordes.

 ** _they show me we are the same_**

 ** _I can't give in_**

 ** _I won't give in_**

 ** _It's not a state of mind_**

 ** _I'm wretched but I'm powerful and_**

As the bullets punctured the flesh of the undead, the three members of Primis began to feel adrenaline rushing throuh their veins. It felt like they knew what they were fighting for again.

 ** _I don't feel_**

Was this the only way?

 ** _Like I am real_**

There was no way to know for sure, and Richtofen was clearly unhinged.

 ** _But I know it's all imaginary_**

What if they were wrong?

 ** _Are they real_**

What if this was all for nothing?

 ** _And do they feel_**

No. It couldn't be. They had to be fighting for something.

 ** _Is all the pain_**

They had the weight of all the world on their shoulders, but honestly, it felt as light as a feather knowing they had it. It made them wary of exactly what they were fighting for, and that they knew it was right.

 ** _Just inside my head_**

 ** _it's all inside my head_**

They began to move out of the labs, mowing through the courtyards taking out at least five zombies for every bullet fired, diminishing the once rampant hordes in seconds.

 ** _it's just inside my_**

 ** _it's all inside my_**

 ** _they're all inside my_**

 ** _I see them always but they're_**

 ** _all inside my head_**

 ** _all inside my head_**

It didn't take long, but when Takeo managed to kill a zombie from two hunded yard with his minigun, that signified the end of the fight. The overrun facility now belonged to humans again, giving the four a well earned rest.

 ** _they're all inside my head_**

Shortly afterwards, Richtofen returned, with a strange device that looked sort of like an hourglass. "What is that?" Takeo asked. "Der Vrill Device!" Richtofen exclaimed, holding it up in the way an excited child would hold up a Christmas present. "I also remembered to bring back a weapon for you each to use."

He gave a set of bizarre looking futuristic spikes to Takeo. "Forgive me for asking, but how exactly will these harm anyone?"

"Der Ragnarok DG4 works when you slam the two spikes into the ground. You can displace gravity in your immediate area for your opponents, killing them with ease." Takeo nodded. "I will be sure to make good use of these."

He then went to Dempsey and handed him two knuckledusters. "Alright, so what's the schtick with these?" Tank asked, knowing Richtofen wouldn't just give him run of the mill knuckledusters. "These are Galvaknuckles. An early invention of the 2020's, I'm sure you can tell by the name what they do." Tank nodded, slipping them onto his fists. "As for you Nikolai, I have der Hell's Retriever. A boomerang throwing axe that can target multiple foes at once." Nikolai shook his head. "I have no need for it."

Richtofen thought he misheard. "Pardon?" Nikolai repeated. "I said I have no need for it. Give it to Dempsey instead." The Russian suggested. Neither Richtofen nor Dempsey argued, with the American holstering the weapon before all four turned to Gersh.

"As I said before, I cannot thank you enough for taking me out of that place." Gersh continued to thank them. "We need no thanks. It is our duty to help one another." Nikolai replied, getting on the teleporter.

"I would hope that you keep the Casimir Mechanism up und running." Richtofen requested. "It is highly important." Gersh nodded. "Of course, of course. I will ensure that no harm befalls the mechanism. For you gentlemen, I will do anything to show my gratitude."

"I am sure that you will. You are a good man Gersh, und you will only need to keep it operational for a short time. Until we can make things right again."

With that, teleported, heading for their final destination. "Where exactly are we headed this time?" Tank asked. "Well Dempsey, you might like to know we are going to Nevada." Tank did smile, pleased to finally get to go to the states on one of these missions, but he knew that because it was their last stop, things were going to be brutally tough.

"From there, we can go to the moon in no time at all, where we will finally put everything right." Richtofen explained. He was of course being a little ambitious when he said that, it wasn't as if it was going to be that easy. But still, nothing until this point had been easy, so to say they couldn't overcome this would be sorely underestimating their abilities as a group.

* * *

Why was Richtofen thinking of that memory? Well, if Richtofen himself had to say, then would probably be because that was the only other time that he could think of where he had been in such a remote location.

Steve, Terrarian, Hisako, Madotsuki, Vince, Booker, Elizabeth, Cole, Richtofen, Dempsey, Takeo and Nikolai were all following Monty on the supposed path to the Shadowman's base, out in the middle of a surprisingly cold desert. It was night on top of that, making it that much colder.

They had been looking for a while now, and the place where Monty had said there might be a base was close by. "Are you sure there was a base out here? For him?" Tank asked, finding it hard to imagine why someone like the Shadowman would ever need a base of operations to himself.

"Well, I hardly dragged you all the way out here to stare at the grass, so what do you think?" Monty questioned. "I think what I mean to say is, I find it very hard to believe that he would ever need a base of operations." Tank reiterated. "Well, let's say there were things he didn't want anyone else to know..." Monty posed.

"I don't get it. I figured all those guys would get along just fine. Secrets wouldn't really be a thing at all for any of them." Booker pointed out.

"My point is, the Shadowman is a danger to anyone around him. It doesn't matter whether or not he's on your side or not, he will not hesitate to throw anyone under the bus if he thinks they impede his goals." Monty explained. "Why do you think he's gotten this far on his own? He hasn't, he's just used everyone gullible enough to believe his promise of fortune and power as a stepping stone. While I don't know enough about the others he associates with, on his own, the Shadowman is more than capable of abandoning so called allies in pursuit of his own bloody personal gain."

Cole was taking notes of it all in his little notebook. Come to think of it, Cole had been taking a lot of notes lately. No one bothered to ask, and he never told anyone about it. No one suspected that he would plot against his teammates, it was clear that he was far too good of a man to do something like that even in the short time they had known him.

"Any idea what to look for?" Booker asked. "No." Monty admitted. "However, it should be obvious. We're not looking for a traditional being, more like a tear in reality. "Like one I could open up." Elizabeth realized why she and Booker had been brought along. "Exactly. I hand picked this team you know. Elizabeth and Phelps for figuring out where it is, and everyone else is here to be muscle." It was a blunt explanation from the last Keeper, but he wasn't wrong. Not even Madotsuki seemed to have her feelings hurt by that one.

"So you're expecting a lot of zombies at this base wherever it is, huh?" Steve asked. "Well...yes and no." Monty answered. "The apothicons will be there too."

The others had heard mention of the term before, 'Apothicon'. What did it mean though? "What exactly are those things anyway?" Booker asked. "To put it simply, they once were Keepers, much like myself. They were corrupted though, and so they live in exile, sealed in their own dimension until they can be freed by the Shadowman."

As Monty attempted to explain what Apothicons were, Cole decided to investigate further. He went to Richtofen and asked a question that had been on his mind for quite a while. "Edward?" Richtofen turned his attention to the detective. "Do you have time for a question?" Richtofen glanced over at Monty, who had still not shut up. "I suppose so."

Cole nodded before asking. "Well...it's just that...you realy don't look like the kind of guy who could keep up with all of that stuff Monty and the Shadowman are throwing at you. So, what I want to know is, how did someone like you get tossed into this?"

The German didn't hesitate to answer. "It's because of Ultimus." Richtofen explained. "Ultimus? What was that?" Cole was already eager to take down notes. "A person. Specifically, me, aber from an alternate world." Cole nodded. "Interesting. So what made him so bad?"

"Well, to keep the story brief-" "Nono, tell me everything." Cole insisted. Richtofen saw no point in arguing, and so, he obliged.

"Well then, for Ultimus, it started after the Great War. In this world he lived in, Group 935 were not able to locate any 115 until after the Great War. By that time, the group became international, und had no allegiance to any nation. Funds were low for the group, but interest was high. The Illuminati were one such group, who managed to recruit Ultimus as a member a few years before he decided to join. For his intellect, he was chosen to be sent in, to keep lookout for anything they could use to take over the world. Time passed und success was had, but it was limited. They experimented with transferring matter from one place to another, or as it is known, teleportation."

"So how come no one wanted to invest in his timeline? Is it possible that people already knew who he was allied with?" Cole asked.

Richtofen shook his head. "I highly doubt it. It was more likely a result of skepticism, many believing that nothing they could ever produce would be useful or function properly. So despite their scientific brilliance, they often had to cut corners. The teleportation was one such corner to be cut, at least in the eyes of Maxis. You see, it was at around the time the Second World War was beginning, und Nazi Germany was very interested in a group with that much potential. The Element 115, which had been used in the teleportation experiements, was hard to come by for a private group, but for a global superpower, it was plentiful. Not to mention, the funding would be more than enough to make the wildest dreams of the group a reality."

"So why did the teleportation have to be cut then? If funding was so plentiful, and so were supplies, then surely they could have accomplished even more than what they did." Cole reasoned. "Ah, but the problem was something Ultimus anticipated." Richtofen explained.

"You see, aside from the Illuminati not liking the idea, the obvious problem was that many of Group 935's scientists did not want to ally themselves with Nazi Germany, und this meant the manpower simply wasn't there. In just a year, all non-Germans working for Group 935 had left, cutting numbers by more than half. In addition, Group 935 didn't have the same freedom. They could now only work on what the Reich told them to work on. However, Ultimus, along with two other Scientists, Groph und Schuster, continued to work on the teleportation behind Maxis' back, while he worked on producing an undead army for the Nazis."

"So that's where the zombies came from." Cole put the pieces together. "Exactly." Richtofen nodded.

"But the problem always persisted, that no matter what Maxis tried, the test subjects would never obey commands. Eventually Ultimus was able to get the teleporters working, and was able to transport a walnut. The achievement was marvellous, but Maxis had little time for walnuts, and he ordered the trio to stop. They continued to work behind his back though, teleporting various items which often yielded success. The only problem was that they never had a live test subject to use, and to get one without Maxis knowing of it would have been almost impossible. So Ultimus did the only thing he could have, und volunteered himself as a test subject. He was teleported to the moon, where he came across a device called the MPD. He was unaware of what it was at the time, but once he touched it, he learned so much. But it came at a cost: His sanity. He was teleported to othet locations where things were revealed to him that could have allowed him to have that power."

Cole's pencil snapped at that point, so he took out his spare. "What about the Illuminati?" He asked. "He cut ties. No longer cared about anything other than personal gain." Richtofen ran a hand through his hair before continuing.

"He returned to Group 935 at a facility named 'Der Riese' or 'The Giant' some time later, and told Maxis of his discoveries. In his absence, Maxis had already successfully launched a 115 powered rocket into space, und so it was obvious what the next step in the plan would be for Ultimus. He needed Maxis und his daughter Samantha for now, but once he had achieved his goals, he Groph und Schuster, along with their team of scientists, would overthrow Maxis, giving Ultimus the power of a God. Immediately, Group 935 established a teleporter link to the moon, beginning construction of a facility known as Griffin Station. The facility was only completed towards the end of the war, at which point it was obvious Germany und its allies would lose, so Ultimus knew he had to act quickly. He cornered Maxis und his daughter into a teleporter, sending them both to the moon to be killed by Groph und Schuster. However, in the ensuing chaos, Samantha entered the MPD, purely by accident. In doing so, she had foiled Ultimus' plans for the time being, und solved the mystery her father could not. When she entered the MPD, she gained control of the undead armies, which spelled disaster for everyone. Maxis was shot while trying to escape from soldiers loyal to Ultimus, but before he could be killed, he reached his daughter und gave her one order: Kill them all. It took at most a minute for the moon base to be completely wiped out, except of course for Ultimus. He escaped to the earth, but the undead were waiting for him there too."

Cole had finished taking it all down. "So, did he die?" Richtofen shook his head. "After much scheming, he took control of Samantha's body und as a consequence, the undead. Maxis eventually fought back control of the undead to save his daughter, as a consequence of that, he destroyed his entire world. That was where Samantha introduced herself to me, und well...the rest, as they say, is history."

Cole nodded. "Eventually I killed him to prevent that from happening though, so at least some disaster was averted." That caused the detective to raise an eyebrow. "Hang on. If that's true, then none of the events that lead up to you getting to this point would ever have taken place, correct?" Richtofen nodded. "It's all down to these." He held up the blood vials chained to his jacket. "These blood vials hold powers to warp reality. Their power alone protects me from any adverse effects of changing history." Richtofen explained.

"Well, if he was Ultimus Richtofen, then what does that make you?" Cole asked. "Primis." Richtofen answered. "It isn't just me. Both Ultimus und Primis refer to the quartet of Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, Takeo Masaki und I, Edward Richtofen. Every member of Primis has a blood vial to protect themselves from the often unforseen effects of time travel."

"But I don't understand." Cole quizzed, still not satisfied. "If changing history is so hard, then why is time travel even a question?" This time though, the answer didn't come from Richtofen.

"It took place in another world first of all. Time travel in a world where they didn't exist was mostly inconsequential, so tha majority of the plan went ahead smoothly, until someone decided to deviate from the mission. The blood vials were never part of the plan, actually." Monty answered. "That German rat was supposed to disappear along with the other three as soon as the Shadowman was banished. Their purpose had been served. But because of those damn vials, I still have to put up with them!" He sighed in annoyance. "Humans and their free will. Biggest mistake we ever made if you ask me."

Cole could see clearly that the relationship between 'Primis' and Monty was a rocky one at best. He did at least read some of the Kronorium though, before he handed it to Monika. He knew that Monty was one of the Keepers, and at this stage, possibly the last. Cole would've confidently placed a bet on all the other Keepers being dead or corrupted by now, leaving Monty, despite all his flaws, as the only being left with a chance to usurp the Shadowman.

Suddenly, Hisako shouted something in Japanese up at the front. "What the hell?" Booker asked, jumping at the sudden shout. Takeo ran up to her to translate. "What's the matter?!" He demanded, keeping out of reach of a potential attack. "He's nearby! That bearded man!" Her stammer was gone, indicating that she was ready for a fight. He also knew who the bearded man was, it was obvious: The Shadowman. But where could he be?

"The ground! Watch your feet!" She yelled. Takeo was initially confused, but it only took a second for the information to click. "Shoot the ground!" He yelled back to the rest in English, just as a hand shot out of the ground and grabbed his ankle, accompanied by the familiar shouts of zombies hungry for human flesh.

Takeo didn't reach for his gun, instead going for his sword and slicing the hand off, waiting for the zombie to rear its ugly head and then driving his blade through its skull, leaving it to sink beneath the surface once more. All around him, the Elite were shooting the ground, and the groans of dying zombies filled the air.

"Well, I am very impressed." The Shadowman chuckled, rising out of the sand like a zombie, albeit some distance in front of the Elite. "I thought I'd catch you off guard with that, but not even someting as extraordinarily sneaky as that caught you out."

Monty rolled his eyes. "Why don't you just get to the point of this little charade and spare us all the agony of having to listen to you?" The Shadowman stopped, and smiling, he obliged. "Word travels fast. I heard you were looking for a base of operations belonging to a member of my team. Specifically, me." He explained.

That caught them all off guard. Some of them knew he was resourceful, but even they couldn't possibly see how he would've figured that out. "How in the world did you find that out?!" The Terrarian demanded. "Let's not get into details, at least for now. Tell me though, am I correct?" The silence that followed was enough confirmation for him that he was.

"Well, the thing is I'd much prefer you not finding it." He announced. "So, you're just gonna send more zombies after us?" Tank asked. "You seem awfully confident this will actually work." He remarked. "That's right." The Apothicon leader nodded. "I brought your favourite." He whistled, and all of a sudden it was raining suits. Suits with arms that could be fired forward like hooks and used to grab people, armed with flanethrowers and bullet-proof armour. Panzer-Soldats. "Aw fuck." Dempsey grumbled, reaching for his staff. The other three did the same, while the rest of the Elite got whatever weapons they could ready. "Aim for the head!" Dempsey called out. That was all he got time to say before the undead began charging towards the Elite.

Vince's voodoo powers and Madotsuki's dream powers made short work of a few of them, in conjunction with the staff users, leaving only a few remaining. That didn't matter much though, as more Panzers began raining down from above,

The Terrarian pointed the Terra Blade at the Shadowman. "Call off your troops!" He ordered. The Shadowman raised an eyebrow. "And tell me, why would I do that?" He asked. "Because I'll make you wish you were never born using this sword."

He paused. It might've been because of his attitude, but the Apothicon Leader found something very entertaining about the Terrarian's never say die approach to combat.

The Shadowman chuckled. "You don't think I can fight, do you?" That managed to unnerve the Terrarian. "I'm perfectly capable of fighting, don't you wor-"

The Terrarian swung the Terra Blade with all his might, aiming straight for the head. The energy on the edge of the blade began to form as well, culminating in a deadly strike that...

"What?!" The strike had stopped in midair, at least half a meter away from the Shadowman's head. He laughed, as the air which the Terrarian had struck, all of a sudden blowing him away.

"You're trying to beat me at my own game?" The Shadowman tutted. "No one does that." The Terrarian was undeniably hurt, but he wasn't going to give up so easily. He took out a bow and fired it at the Shadowman, who caught the arrow with ease using whatever forcefield he had surrounded himself with. He almost seemed disappointed with the effort. "Is that the trick?" He asked. "No. It's called the Daedalus Stormbow for a reason." The Terrarian replied. The Shadowman almost let that comment fly over his head, but an arrow did that instead. He had to use his forcefield to block the hailstorm of arrows coming down from above, which provided cover for the Terrarian to get right up close to his target.

Then came the surprise swing. The Shadowman couldn't see the Terra Blade going underneath, piercing his abdomen with ease. Then he hit the Shadowman with his yoyo, knocking him to the ground.

He stood up almost immediately, but didn't retaliate right away, giving the Terrarian time to pierce his abfomen again. "I must say, that packed quite the punch." The Shadowman said, grinning as he forced the Terra Blade out of his abdomen, holding it out long enough for not only the fresh wound to heal entirely, but all wounds he had were restored to peak condition, before he focused on the Terrarian. "I'll tell you what. Since you had not only the audacity, but also the skill to hit me, I'll give you a hint. My base isn't here, that much you should know by now. However, you should also know where my base is the next time you return home, as at least some of your team will have been there. They don't know they have seen it, but they have." The Terrarian didn't understand any of it. "But wait, what does any of that mean?!" The Shadowman shrugged. "That's for you to decide." With that, another blast of force slammed into the Terrarian, hitting him like a ton of bricks. He went flying back, surely breaking a few bones as he hit the ground, his face showing a contorted expression of pain. With that, he raised his hand into the air, and the Panzer Soldats began to collapse one by one, their heads exploding at the Shadowman's order. With that, he vanished, confusing the Elite, but then causing alarm as they saw the Terrarian collapsed on the ground.

Steve was the first one over, holding up his head as he asked the important questions. "You're not bitten, are you?" He asked, a look of worry on his face. The Terrarian shook his head. "That guy hits pretty hard though..." He coughed, a small amount of blood coming up with it. "Jesus..." Booker muttered. "It's alright." Richtofen stepped in. "He should be alright once we get him back to Leanbox. Until then, we must make sure no harm befalls him."

"Wait." The Terrarian stopped them as Steve began making a stretcher to put him on. "He said something about where his base was." That attracted the collective attention of the group. "He said if we went back to Leanbox..." His speech was starting to become slurred. "...someone already knows where it is. Even if they didn't see it..." At least they could understand the words coming out, but they still didn't make a lot of sense. What did he mean by that?

Regardless, they weren't getting another answer. The Terrarian slipped into unconsciousness, a result of his injuries. "Looks like the injuries were too much for him. If I'd have known, I would've helped out when I could've." Steve sighed, finishing the stretcher and carefully loading the Terrarian onto it. "Still it's impressive that he managed to get a hit in on the guy." Booker acknowledged, understanding from his limited knowledge of the Shadowman that he was a highly elusive target.

Richtofen nodded. "Ja, it took a lot of bravery to do that. Skill too." He didn't say the negative things though. He was keeping them for later.

The negative things being that even though the Terrarian had hit the Shadowman, he had been hit just as hard, if not harder. As well as that, it was clearly going to take more than a few hits to take him down, considering the amount of effort it took just to get one hit in with an absurdly powerful weapon only went further towards illustrating how hard it was to get a hit in, and how unlikely it was that they would do it again.

 ** _Author's Note_**

It's been a while since I did one of those, I had this one saved up for some time, almost got deleted until I remembered it. It's hard to write, not because I can't think of what to say, it just slows down my phone like, a fuckton.

So does Hisako have the spider sense? No, but I'll be talking about the reasoning behind all that in a later chapter, so not to worry there.

As fo where the Shadowman's base is, I'm not keeping that as a grand mystery. You'll find out soon enough.

Until Next Time!


	31. Sacrifice

Walking through West Manor, it looked like something out of a horror film that would have been deemed unsuitable for public viewing. The places that weren't soaked in blood or dirt all reeked of age, at least 100 years old.

It just made all the technology seem very out of place, as it was so clearly far more advanced than even any of them would have seen. "I kinda figured he'd be usin' the money he got from all that whacko science shit to buy himself a better house than this." Scout commented, running his finger along a nearby wall and grimacing as he saw the amount of dirt coming off. "Unless..." Ezio began to think about it. "Unless what?" Scout asked, rubbing off the dirt on Medic's coat. "Well, we don't know when he lived." Ezio explained. "You might find this kind of house outdated, but I can remember a time where such a house would be top of the range. The only thing that seems wrong would be the filth, but that could always be cleaned."

That was actually a very good point. They had no idea when West lived, so maybe his abode was actually state of the art and none of them knew it. "I'm not entirely sure about that..." Brutus scratched his chin. "This kind of stuff would be classed as high-tech back on my own planet, long after any of you were supposedly alive." Gordon wanted to object, but he remained silent. "For a man to be making that kind of technology when this home would've been in its heyday, it would be very unlikely." That was also a good point. But still, they had no idea what was going on with the manor, and it seemed unlikely that they ever would.

* * *

"West was born in the 19th Century." Rick explained. "He was an acclaimed scientist back then too, he even had a wife. Back then he was more sane." Jack W. was pretty skeptical, finding it hard to believe that anyone back then would have access to such technology. Even when it came to his encounters with Lovecraftian mythology, it was more down to the powers of the creatures themselves, and not that of man. But he was willing to accept that Dr. West was a different kind of person to anything he had encountered before he had joined up with the Elite. "So what drove him over the edge?"

Terror Mask took over. "His wife was burned at the stake for allegedly being a witch, and that drove the poor bastard to destroy everything! Tried summoning these dudes from another world to do it and everything, but there was a tag team that managed to bring him down..." Obviously he meant himself and Rick, but no one said anything to confirm or deny that.

"Anyway, this mansion is massive. We're not gonna cover much ground if you guys plan on sticking together like that." Rick pointed out. "So we should probably split up." There wasn't much trouble when it came to splitting up the teams then. Rick, Jack W. and Kameo made up one team, while Sam, Jack Cooper and Conker made up the second one. Banjo, Kazooie, Isaac, Nick and Alex made up the third team, and so it was decided. "Right. As soon as something goes wrong, we all head for the entrance again. I'm giving us all two hours. If by then you're not back, we'll have to assume the worst." Sam Fisher explained. It sounded awfully grim, but none of them could argue that they needed that. No point in waiting for something for that long when the risk of trouble was so high.

As Sam's trio wandered through the halls, it became obvious they were going to have to fight at some point. But none of them expected their opponents to be who they turned out to be.

"Hold it right there asshole! You're toast!" Sam turned at the sound of a gun being cocked. Seeing what he was up against, he realized there was more than one gun.

"Shit." Conker muttered. "It's not lookin' too good for us guys. But she is..." The squirrel was drooling at the sight of Black Orchid, who grimaced as she saw the squirrel salivating over her. Sam realized they were heavily outnumbered, something that was clear as day. But he could get help.

He turned to Conker. "You're faster than both of us, right?" Conker snapped out of his trance long enough to start frantically nodding. "Good. I want you to get any help you can. We'll try to hold out for as long as we can."

Jack Cooper was already rushing into action against Scout,swinging his arm to counter the baseball bat and forming an 'X'. Exactly what he needed to do.

But Sam was about to be sent a gift from above, an unexpected surprise, as all the members of Team Fortress disappeared for the battle. That only left Orchid. They stared at each other for a moment, with Fisher taking out his knife and Orchid using an Eskima stick, they wordlessly crossed weapons, and began their own fight.

It was a mostly white room, as if it were meant for practice matches. Well, this was no practice match, so they must have gotten the wrong place. Still, they prefered focusing on the fight as opposed to the scenery.

"I didn't expect that your side would have more than one special operative." Orchid admitted. "It's usually a pretty tough position to get to." Fisher shrugged. "I figured that too. Still, those other two guys? Nowhere near as good as me." Orchid knew about one of them. Jason Flemming was good, but he didn't pose too much of a threat to Orchid at all. She hadn't fought Joanna Dark before though, so she couldn't say how good she was.

But still, Sam was setting himself up as a seriously good fighter, not something Orchid doubted, but she had come up against good fighters before, and beaten them with ease. As far as she was concerned, this guy might have been a good fighter, but by the time the fight was over, he would just be another statistic.

Sam could see Orchid trying to psyche herself up for the fight, clearly having done a lot of fighting before. He didn't have the environment on his side, with the room almost entirely open except for the doorways, so one on one appeared to be his only option.

No matter. He'd win all the same.

Orchid opened the formalities, launching a punch for Fisher's head which he ducked to avoid, before grabbing her fist and throwing a punch of his own, giving a one-two punch combo before shoving her away and taking out his M.A.W.S., switching to Shotgun mode and firing a deadly close range blast. Orchid was able to stay on her feet though, ready to retaliate with a sliding kick, knocking Fisher off his feet.

She was strong with her punches, opting to hit Fisher's jaw as hard as she could before getting a few body blows in, then using Flik Flak to kick him back. Sam made an excellent recovery though, and took out his knife. Orchid saw it and got her Eskima sticks ready, swatting away the agent's attempts to stab her with ease. Her attacks were predictable though, as every time she swung the second Eskima stick, Sam was wary, ducking underneath and trying another stab. "You're pretty good for a barbie doll." Sam commented. He went for another stab and at the last second, he pulled out, causing Orchid to swing and miss. She followed up with an instinctive reflex, swinging both sticks in an unorthodox manner at Fisher, but that was what he was counting on. He caught them both with the curved edge of his knife, lifting them both aside for a brief moment and giving himself time to take his Five-Seven from his belt and shoot Orchid in the head at least five times before she rolled out of the way. He fired a few more times, but his bullets didn't hit her and so he stopped. "Still, can't say I've ever lost to one. Don't intend to today either." Strangely to Orchid, he never once started to smile, just making his own jokes as if they were for other people to laugh at. Well, the only other person who could hear them was Orchid, and she wasn't laughing.

The fire cat girl picked herself up immediately and reached for her bustier. Sam could see she was glowing green, but surely this had to be...No. She couldn't possibly be-Oh.

She did.

Orchid had her tits on full display, sending all sorts of messages to Sam Fisher, the highly trained agent being held to his most primal instincts as he stopped and dropped his knife. He was speechless, even when Orchid covered them back up, the image was burned in his mind for him to never forget.

Orchid wasted no time in using her Eskima sticks to deal as much damage as possible, knocking Fisher into the air and then following up with another Flik-Flak attack, which would surely finish off the fight. However, he was starting to recover. Sam reached for his M.A.W.S. and began firing with the assault rifle mode, forcing Orchid to run back and avoid the hail of bullets. Turning around though, she could see why he had done that. He was gone. Completely gone. Did he give up? No. That was impossible as far as Orchid knew. Running away from a fight like this was cowardly too, and despite the many things she didn't like about Sam Fisher, she could at least be sure that he wouldn't do that.

Her thinking had cost her though. Orchid grunted in pain as Fisher drove his knife into her back, then punching her twice to send her to the ground before taking out his Five-Seven again, and firing for her head. The first shot connected with her head before she rolled out of the way, getting to her feet. That had taken a lot out of her, and Sam had a full special meter to use whenever he pleased.

He made up his mind, taking out a grenade filled with hydrochloric acid gas, and pulled the pin. Orchid was already starting to feel the effects of it too, coughing profusely while feeling a burning sensation on her skin. She didn't have long left to fight back, that was all she knew. Fisher was already going into the cloud, not having his camo on, but not needing it with the cover the cloud provided.

Orchid had built up her special meter to about the halfway point, meaning she could call on the Firecat, but not seeing where her opponent was would prove to be a huge disadvantage. She had to get out quickly, or else Sam wouldn't even have to attack to win.

Sam was approaching Orchid from behind, with his own cloud unable to hurt him, with his knife out, ready to slit her throat. Orchid was cycling through her options inside her head, trying to think of what she could do. Sam was only getting closer with every second, trying not to alert her to his position, almost in prime position to end the whole fight. He seized the opportunity, jumping at Orchid with what he was sure wouldn't be enough time to react. But he was quickly surprised as Orchid flipped to her hands, swinging her legs in the air using her Flik-Flak attack, knocking the knife out of his hand and sending him crashing out of the cloud. A stroke of genius for Orchid, but she had no time to congratulate herself for that. She ran out of the cloud immediately, looking around for Fisher before he had a chance to plan a similar attack.

A bullet went through the cloud, flying over her left shoulder. Aside from that, her skin was still burning, not that Orchid cared. It would be all gone by the time the fight was over, but there was the problem. She was already weakened, which meant she only had at most half a minute before she succumbed to her injuries. The gap needed to be closed first of all, and that meant she needed speed. As Sam fired the assault rifle mode on the M.A.W.S., Orchid used Blockade Runner again, cutting underneath another storm of bullets as the cloud began to clear. Even though her legs hurt, she knew she didn't have to keep rushing for much longer until she got there. The cloud was almost cleared, but she had done enough. Just wait to surprise the shit out of him.

Fisher was a little confused to see her rushing at him like that, especially when he had a full clip just loaded into the M.A.W.S.

He knew better than to stop and wonder though, and so he pulled the trigger.

That was when time seemed to slow down. As the bullet flew towards her, Orchid glowed green, before becoming the Firecat, and passing through the bullet. She could see the look of alarm on his face now, and she quickly reacted to his next move, kicking the M.A.W.S. out of his hand and following up with a flurry of kicks and attacks from the Firecat, sending the stealth specialist flying high into the air.

Orchid was already charging up a projectile between her Eskima sticks, waiting for Fisher to drop at the exact right moment...

It came.

Orchid released it, and soon Sam's skull was blown open by the ball of energy, leaving Sam Fisher as nothing more than a decapitated body in a pool of blood.

Orchid couldn't stand any longer, having to get down on one knee and recover. She breathed a sigh of relief, knowing she was far closer than she would have liked to losing that bout. Still, outcome was the same, and it was a win.

As she returned to reality, she could see that Team Fortresss had defeated Jack Cooper already, and were waiting on her. "What took ya?" Scout asked. Orchid rolled her eyes. "Never mind that. Big guy, I'm gonna need you to carry these two back to the teleporter." Heavy obliged without another word, accompanied by Soldier and Scout. "What happened to gathering intel?" Spy inquired. "We've gathered enough as it is. I'd go further, but I don't wanna risk anyone getting caught. These guys are good." Spy could understand her reasoning now. "Very well. I will take the rest of the team back. You may look for the rest of the members."

By the time he had finished suggesting it to her though, she was already gone off looking for every other member, ready to go home.

* * *

Jago had broken away from the chaos, finding Dr. West in a testing chamber, with a similar looking teleportation device to what he had seen at the Ultratech. "Ah, Jago!" Dr. West greeted. Jago could do nothing to get to the mad doctor though, as he was on the other side of an incredibly strong screen. Jago tried ramming his blade through it several times, but he couldn't even land a scratch.

"That screen is unbreakable." West pointed out. "Now, you're just in time for a demonstration." He was flicking switches already as he explained. "I am informed you may have seen this device before, in fact, one of these is the reason you are here. Well let me tell you, it is not a teleporter. Please do not refer to it as such. It is a portal. An interdimensional portal to be exact, perfect for summoning things from other worlds!"

West demonstrated, as the blue circle called out various items from each of their worlds that he was sure the others would have recognized. "Inter-dimensional travel will be the key for us. We'll spread our control everywhere, with no limits! The Apothicons which the Shadowman controls will run wild! Against them you have no chance!" He began laughing like every mad scientist ever, before he left the room. "Well, for now I must go. Good luck trying to kill one another!"

"Don't you see Jago?" Gargos teased. "This fool is trying to call in an army to take over this world, but once he does that, he will allow me a pathway to the world as well! It may be a matter of days, weeks, or months, I don't know! But I know for certain that once this fool completes this project, he'll have signed his own death warrant!" Jago was horrified at the thought, but trapped on the other side of a sturdy guard that could take a nuke without even rattling, there was nothing he could do. He would have to tell Green Heart everything they knew in order to get anything done, that was their only hope.

He made a break for the the teleporter, and it wasn't long before he reached it, finding the rest of his teammates there, except for Glacius and Orchid. "Where did Orchid go?!" Jago demanded. Orchid put a hand on his shoulder from behind, making him jump. "It's Glacius." She explained. "He..."

* * *

Glacius had gotten caught up in a fight in an especially strange room, a standard room in terms of layout, but it looked like a test chamber. Perhaps that's what it was. It had the same purple bloodstained walls as the rest of the mansion, so it was tough to tell.

His opponent had approached him alone, uninterested in Orchid...well, fighting her at least, but Glacius was his target. The man's name was Alex Mercer. Not much Glacius knew about him, but he was looking forward to a good fight. They had already crossed arms, so all they had to do was wait for one of them to open the formalities.

The room was empty except for the two. Alex couldn't see his alien foe however, just noticing that it became very cold all of a sudden. The walls began to freeze, the air became visible as it started to condense, and there were icicles hanging from the ceiling.

"My apologies." Alex turned around, seeing Glacius ready to fight. "But I will take any advantage I can in a battle. Considering this is one on one, I need not worry for the health and safety of any of my teammates." Alex knew what he was talking about, and to be fair, freezing the room around him like that was a pretty awesome ability.

Alex ran towards the ice alien, hoping to finish the fight before it could even properly begin, but Glacius anticipated as much. He quickly melted into a puddle as Alex's blade arm swung at thin air, catching the walking bioweapon off guard, then he used the puddle punch. Alex didn't have the presence of mind to anticipate it, and so when the punch connected with his jaw, it seriously hurt. He was already reeling, and when Glacius followed up with three more punches and giving him a literal cold shoulder to the head, Alex was more than a little stunned.

"So, you can melt just like that? Come back good as new too?" Alex asked. "Correct." Glacius confirmed. "Based on your choice of wording, I would assume you are capable of much the same." Alex smiled. "Right answer pal!"

Alex formed his arm into a sword, while Glacius did the same, both swinging and parrying to match one another, Glacius swinging high only to be ducked by Alex, who then turned his arm into a spear and jabbed Glacius in the chest. Though he didn't pierce his shell, Glacius fell backwards and decided it was time to switch his tactics.

Glacius created icicles out of the surrounding air and fired them at Alex. He, in return, turned his arm into a shield and blocked all 4 projectiles, and then jumped into the air, ready to crush the Ice Alien. Glacius knew what to do, and quickly made jagged icicles appear out of the ground, hoping to catch him in a well planned trap. But if Alex was surprised, he didn't show it. His arms turned into hammers and slammed down on the icicles, shattering them like they were fine china.

He then went straight for Glacius and attacked the ice alien, finally getting a few hits in, and even stabbing him with his blade arm, hurting Glacius quite a bit.

Both were already starting to fill up their meters, but it was all arbitrary to them at that point. Glacius launched a punch for Alex, but the prototype decided to give him a taste of his own medicene, allowing the biomass around his chest to move the instant Glacius connected. He was understandably surprised when his punch went straight through, but what shocked him more was when he couldn't pull back his arm. "Eugh-what?!" He cried out as he tried to pull back. Even worse, the biomass was starting to creep up his arm, pulling him further and further inside. Glacius punched again, but that was an almost even bigger mistake, as Alex absorbed that arm too.

Glacius made an alien noise before pressing on, hoping to eventually get out while Alex's biomass made its way to his torso.

"Pity I can't have those abilities of yours. I would really love to use ice powers sometime." But as he was absorbing Glacius, an ice projectile to the face, throwing him off completely. The ice alien threw himself back, and now had a fresh approach. He really had to keep away from Alex now, or else he would become another snack for Alex Mercer.

He had the terrain to his advantage, and he really needed to use that, considering physical contact was out of the question. Alex went for Glacius again with his blade arm, and narrowly missed him as he ducked, leaving Alex to drive his arm into the wall. Glacius had a perfect opportunity, seeing the wall covered in ice, he quickly started making it cold again. The ice spread to Alex's hand immediately, trapping him where he was. He would break out again, but Glacius only needed a few seconds. He looked to the ceiling, remembering it was covered in icicles and began to make them fall. Alex was busy trying to free his hand, and when he eventually did, he couldn't react soon enough. The icicles came crashing down, dealing serious damage to him, but more importantly, it gave Glacius more valuable time to plan.

Alex picked himself up, still ready to fight, however hurt he was. "That was pretty clever. You've got balls, but you've also got a brain there. I guess it's an alien thing. Not a lot of the humans I fought had that." His arm turned into a hammer strangely enough, and with that, he swung for the ceiling above him. The icicles he hit instantly smashed on impact, and the blow knocked down all the remaining icicles, levelling the playing field just a little. Glacius was highly impressed by that quick thinking, but he had no time to react. Even with his meter filled up by a substantial amount, Glacius knew using it now would've been suicide. Even worse, Alex was swinging his hammer arm again, aiming for Glacius' feet, which he barely had any time to jump out of the way of. "Think again!" Alex grinned, as Glacius couldn't see the hammer coming back, and it was slowly turning into a rope, Alex hoping to finish off the walking ice pop as soon as he could. It worked, with biomass wrapping around his legs and sticking like a gel, dragging him to the floor and towards Alex, with more and more biomass wrapping around him. Glacius was now panicking to break free, punching at Alex's head while he still had the chance, not having the time to prepare a projectile again. Alex was still trying and trying to absorb him, more and more water leaking away, making the resistance weaker and weaker from Glacius.

Eventually, it all became too much. Glacius was melted, and his small alien body disappeared inside Alex, signalling the end of the fight.

Alex was exhausted. He dropped to his hands and knees, into the puddle that was once Glacius. He was breathing heavily, exhausted by the fight, and not to mention how cold he was, especially putting his hands and knees into Glacius' shell.

Still, at least he could say he captured Glacius. That was one less-

"Ngh?!" Alex's heart skipped a beat. He looked down.

Oh no. Oh no, oh no no no no no.

The water. The water was starting to freeze.

By that point, his hands and lower legs were already completely encased by ice, ruining his chances of getting out. But even worse, it was rising. It got to his elbows, then his biceps, slowly encasing him, giving him time to think about what was going to happen. Had Glacius planned this? Was this what he wanted? Alex hated to say it, especially about his opponent, but that alien was-

That was as far as he got before the ice rose above his head, completely encasing him, frozen solid. Until the ice started to crack, eventually shattering into a thousand different pieces, leaving behind it as well, a large puddle of water and a small alien body. Glacius quickly reformed his shell and looked around, seeing Alex Mercer everywhere around him. The pieces were frozen solid, leaving no chance for the biomass to reconnect. "That was much closer than I would have liked." Glacius commented. "But at least I have won. It could very easily have been his fight."

With that, the two returned to reality, Alex unconscious. Glacius scooped him up and ran to the portal.

"Come on, we need to get out of here!" Orchid shouted out to him. A gunshot, presumably from Cortana's Elite, rang out through the Manor, and with that, the Elite disappeared through the portal.

Getting back to the Ultratech facility was something of a relief, especially when Engineer managed to disable the portal again, meaning there was no chance of a surprise visit from Cortana's side.

They all breathed a sigh of relief. "That crazy son of a bitch...he's gonna kill himself!" Balrog seemed infuriated at the supposed ineptitude showcased by West. "That guy's mind is completely gone. He doesn't have any regard for his own safety no more." TJ replied. "Well, at least we have something to report back about." Brutus reminded them. "The fact that they could even attempt something like this sickens me."

"If I remember correctly though, it is a madness they can control." Ezio pointed out.

"No..." Jago muttered. "They think that, but they have no idea what they're about to unleash upon the world. Not even they will be spared."

They all wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but then...

Shrieking.

"What the hell?" Balrog knew what the source was, but surely there was no way that was the case?

"That can't be..." Spy was already loading his gun as he said it. "They couldn't have gotten in here while we were gone. Where would they have come from?!"

But their fears were confirmed as zombies began to pour into the room. "Shit!" Scout swore.

Brutus was the voice of reason, if only for a second. "Alright, alright, calm down!" He ordered. "We'll split up, but we're all going to meet up at the entrance. Team Fortress stick together, I'll go with Balrog, Ezio, Gordon, Glacius-"

"You go with the rest!" Orchid cut across him. "I want to stay back and make sure I've missed nothing." She explained. Brutus wanted to object, but the time window for escape was closing, and they had no time to argue. "I'll stay too." TJ offered. "As will I." Said Jago. Brutus knew by now he had no time. "Okay, everyone else with me!" No one else stayed behind, and soon the KI trio were left behind.

"What the hell were you hoping to find here?!" TJ asked as he caved in another zombie's skull. Fortunately for them, the majority of the zombies had followed the rest of the Elite, leaving just a few for them.

"Anything at all, as long as it's useful!" Orchid replied. She had put her Eskima sticks on her belt, opting to use her fists to kill zombies this time.

She was looking around, especially paying attention to Jago. He seemed more on edge than usual, as if he had learned that he had only a few hours to live. It worried her, seeing her little brother like that, and she just hoped he was ok. She was paying so much attention to him that she took her eyes off the zombies in front of her.

And it cost her. Oh boy, it cost her very dearly. A lone zombie was running up to Orchid, flailing his arms like a madman, and he had a clear path towards her.

Orchid didn't see him, and when she finally layed eyes on him, it was too late. He took a swing straight for her head, and connected with the side of her head. TJ could see the blood spark flying from her head already, hearing a crack to signify something broken and...did he just see that?

Orchid felt it. The zombie had just scraped her entire eye out. Orchid had to ignore that for a second though, as she went through his skull with her fist, giving her what she hoped would be enough time to steady herself. She put a hand over the gaping wound, trying to stem the flow of blood, oblivious, to the other zombie near her who was closing in. She couldn't see straight though, let alone think straight, and so her first thought was to put her arm out to block, leaving it hanging in the air.

Orchid realized her mistake seconds too late, and began to pull her arm back. That proved to be too little too late, as the corpse sunk his teeth into her lower arm and began to tear off the chunk. This time, Orchid screamed, knowing full well what was going to happen next.

"ORCHID!" TJ cried out, punching the zombie to death in just one hit. He quickly grabbed her arm as Jago ran towards the other two, moving towards a small room which looked like it was used for storage. The important thing for them right now was that the room had doors, and that gave them time. Rushing in, Jago slammed the door shut and sealed it, while Orchid dropped to her knees once more.

TJ could see it in her eyes, she was terrified. The shock of what had happened hadn't set in, but it would only take a few seconds for that to happen. TJ looked around the room for anything he could use for a table, and seeing an empty wooden box on a shelf, he grabbed it. He set it down next to her, and grabbed some rope as well, though he didn't do anything with it.

"Put your arm on the table!" TJ ordered, gesturing for Jago to come over. Orchid snapped back to reality, and looked at TJ with wide eyes. "Huh?"

"I know it's not easy, but everyone here knows there's only one way to stop you becoming one of them!" TJ explained. He then turned to Jago, who was already taking out his katana. TJ wanted to look the warrior monk in the eye, but he couldn't. He was asking the man to cut his own sister's arm off.

The rogue agent already knew what was happening. It scared her of course, but she knew it needed to happen. Orchid braced herself as Jago raised his katana high...

But it didn't come down. Orchid slowly opened one eye, seeing Jago frozen...was he...

"Jago?"

"I can't." He was. Jago was crying. "I can't hurt you more than I already have."

Orchid was stunned, completely taken aback. Her little brother, her tough as nails emotionally numb little brother was scared to hurt his big sister. She must've looked pretty pathetic too, so scared and weak after having to always be so strong. She couldn't even do it herself, putting the burden on his shoulders.

TJ walked up to Jago, putting a hand on his shoulder. He had finally mustered the courage to look him in the eye. "I know this is hard. I love your sister too. She's a fine strong lady. But I don't wanna see her become one of those...things."

Jago nodded, with tears in his eyes. "I understand." Orchid shakily placed her arm on the crate, but this time had it tied down at the wound with rope, with TJ holding her upper arm.

"On the count of three, okay?" Jago and Orchid nodded. "One, two, three!"

Jago closed his eyes and swung down, cutting through most of the arm with ease. Orchid started roaring and cursing immediately, violently thrashing with TJ struggling to hold her down. "FUCK, IT HURTS!" Orchid screamed. "I know, I know, but it's still hanging on!" TJ told her, before looking to Jago once more. "One more swing!"

Jago obliged, knowing his sister wouldn't hold still for long, and swung again. This time, Jago struck wood, a sign that her arm had come off completely this time, as Orchid howled for her missing limb.

The infection was stopped, Orchid at least wouldn't become a zombie just yet, but there was still much to do. The amputation, coupled with the loss of her eye meant Orchid was losing blood at an alarming rate. TJ was already taking off his shirt and rolling it up in a ball, handing it to Jago as he picked up Orchid in a style. The rogue agent was, for the first time in a very long time, completely terrified, as were TJ and Jago, all three knowing full well she could die very soon. The pain coupled with the blood loss meant she couldn't stay conscious for much longer. Indeed, it wasn't long before she slipped into unconsciousness, sending alarm bells ringing in the heads of both men. TJ was already moving for a door at the back of the room, knowing hoe quickly they needed to move.

"I want you to run alongside me, keep that shirt pressed against the stump!" TJ explained. "It'll help slow down the bleeding!" Jago nodded, still crying, as the two looked for an emergency box. With the lights failing and sirens going off all around them, it was pretty damn loud. But in those circumstances, it might as well have been the dead of the night, as none of that mattered. All that mattered now was that Orchid was kept alive.

It didn't take long, but the two found what they were looking for. "There it is!" Jago shouted. The two rushed over to the red box on the wall. TJ smashed open the box and took out the kit, looking for all the bandages he could find. He had some training in first aid, so he hoped whatever he could do would help Orchid until they were able to get her to a hospital.

Even as TJ was trying to patch up the eye wound, which didn't appear too difficult, more shambling corpses tried to come over for a bite to eat. "Damn it!" TJ cursed his luck. "If ya have any one handed attacks, now would be great!" TJ called out. Jago looked over behind TJ, seeing three of them all trying to come over. The corridor was narrower than most they had seen, but they still had enough space that the three undead were able to walk side by side, like they were best friends or something.

"Endokuken!" Jago yelled, casting a fireball at the middle of the three, slowly incinerating the one in the middle. The air was filled with the stench of burning flesh, even TJ couldn't deny that. He said nothing as he finished patching up the eye, but he did rub his nose as he moved to patch up the arm. "Now, keep me safe!" TJ ordered as Jago stood up, killing the other two zombies with his katana before focusing his attention to more zombies. They were starting to gather either side of TJ, and that didn't spell good news at all for either him or Orchid. Jago focused on one side at a time, slashing through every husk he could see on the side nearest to TJ. He was making progress, but Jago needed to hold out for longer.

In his momentary glances at Jago, TJ could see a man who was motivated by something. Those zombies were coming in the dozens, but not one of them got anywhere near him or Orchid. He was close to finishing the bandages on her arm anyway, so he needed to be quick. "Endokuken!" Jago yelled, concentrating all his power into one large blast which tore over TJ's head, incinerating the horde that had built up behind him.

Jago said nothing. Not even asking how long was left until TJ was done. It wasn't because he didn't care, but instead because of how much he cared. He wanted TJ to do the best possible job, and if that meant he had to take his time, then so be it.

Then TJ realized, that time was now. He was fully finished bandaging up Orchid's arm.

"Come on!" He called out to Jago, picking up Orchid. "Let's get out of here while we still can!" Jago nodded and began racing back to the entrance with TJ keeping pace. The many winding paths were all infested with the undead, only target practice for Jago as his fury fueled an unstoppable run to the entrance. The two finally made it out, collapsing onto the scorching sand as they made it out, hearing the door to the facility being slammed shut behind them, followed by the groaning and pounding of the undead trapped inside.

It had been a scarring experience for the Elite, where they felt like they could easily have died. But at least they were finally outside. Every single one of them. Glacius carried Alex Mercer, Heavy carried Sam Fisher and Jack Cooper, and Jago had taken Orchid off TJ. It was a wordless exchange, TJ fully understanding how Jago must have felt, even though he couldn't be blamed for what happened.

No one said anything. The sun's daylight which produced incredible heat was the only thing which left them feeling anything. Soaked in blood and smelling of rotten flesh, they looked almost as bad as they felt.

However bad they were feeling, one thing was for certain. Not one of them felt worse than Jago. As they walked home, he carried a motionless Orchid as if she weighed nothing at all. He had to do whatever he could to help. He had to. No more cold shoulder for his sister. It was a vow he was making from now on, having seen first hand how close they were to death at all times. That wasn't something the warrior monk could take lightly.

He simply wouldn't allow anything like this to ever happen again.

 ** _Author's Note_**

I think I said this before, but it doesn't hurt to say again, but when Alex is trying to absorb Glacius to kill him despite that not being part of the moveset I gave him, I believe a character doesn't have to stick to their moveset per se. If a character has an ability or move they can naturally use in battle, then I will include it in a fight. The movesets were only me outlining a potential moveset for a game that would never happen.

As for other stuff, Green Heart's side has three victories out of three! Not bad, but other things then happened...

I can't remember when I initially came up with the idea to have Orchid lose her arm, or where that idea came from, but I have a lot planned out around that idea. Oh yeah, and Cortana's Elite made it home safe and sound. I would have written about it, but this chapter was alreadt pretty fuckin long.

But for the rest of this note, I wanted to talk about SSB Ultimate, as the roster has just been confirmed, with some new additions that aren't in my own roster. The question I have gotten is a reasonable one, asking whether or not I'll update my own roster now that a new one has been released.

So I'll say this much. I'm not going to rule it out entirely, as I may go back on what I'm about to say entirely, but as far as I can see, no changes will be made. I try to avoid making changes to the rosters when I can, because a constantly changing cast of characters can be tough to manage. Even if I do make changes, none of my own additions would be axed, so we would be looking at a roster of around 80 characters, which I don't want to do again.

Tl;dr: I might make changes, but don't get your hopes up.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.


	32. Recovery

It had been two days since the last of the Elite had returned to Leanbox. Green Heart had seen most of the missions as successes, and the few that had been sent to look for the Shadowman's base had found out what he had meant. It was more than likely West Manor was where he stayed, but that still left a pretty big area to search. It would take a while for Green Heart to plan out everything, but it also came as a huge benefit. With the base's potential locations narrowed down to West Manor, it meant she only had one more location to find: Cortana's base. It would be incredibly difficult to find, but better to have one incredibly difficult place to find over two, right? So for now, the Elite could rest.

That wasn't necessarily an enjoyable thing for all of them though. In fact, some of them were just waiting for the break to end so they could take their minds off of recent events.

Saya was one of those people. Something she had learned in the past two days was that in a place as big as Leanbox, word travels fast. It wasn't long before everyone knew her secret, and they let her know it.

People gave her dirty looks, but that was only if she was lucky. Some people would bump her shoulders and some would shout obscenities at her, hoping to drive home the fact that she was indeed responsible, and deserved everything she had coming. Saya didn't need them to believe it though. The Elite were much colder, with even Nemesis preferring to spend time on his own now. It hurt her, she wouldn't lie. But she kept thinking about what she had done, and convinced herself that she deserved it. What had those teens done worthy of such a gruesome fate? Nothing. Back to the thinking though. Green Heart had said little, assuring Saya that she would still be a member of the Microsoft Elite, so long as there was a threat which needed to be dealt with.

It was really strange for her, feeling guilt so suddenly for something she did almost routinely in her past, but maybe it was all just catching up with her now.

As for Irisu, she was initially somewhat relieved. She no longer had to worry about blackmail, as everyone knew now that Saya was a monster. Though at the same time, she wondered what made her so hesitant to tell the others that it was indeed Saya who had mutilated and killed the teenagers. Was it because they had been a part of a team for a little while now? Irisu didn't know. It was strange to her to be having these thoughts, from seemingly nowhere given everything she had just described to herself, but for whatever reason, she felt sympathy for her. Only problem was that she didn't know how to express that sympathy.

Should she even try? Maybe Saya just wanted time alone...But then again, Irisu could have just been placing herself in that situation. Maybe Saya was different?

Irisu was torn between the half of her that wanted to stay alone, and the half that wanted to go and talk to Saya. She ultimately decided on the latter, figuring that she would just be thinking about Say the whole time if she chose to remain alone.

Like all of the Elite, Saya had her own room at the CPU Hotel. There was no one else anywhere near the room, so at least Irisu didn't have to worry about that. All she had to do was knock on the door, right? Easy as it sounded, Irisu was only able to stare at the door, seemingly in the blind hope that it would open automatically. No such luck though, leaving the asthmatic girl to swallow hard, take a swig of her cough medicine and knock.

There was no answer.

Good, now she could say she had tried, time to turn back.

Wait, what? Ugh! That was such a weak response and she even knew it herself. Irisu braced herself again and knocked, this time harder, and for a little bit longer. She could hear noises coming from the other side of the door, but no one came to open it. "Saya?" Irisu was getting nervous now, looking around to make sure no one was watching. Probably her innate lack of social skills. "It's Irisu..." She stopped and started listening as she heard stumbling around the room, followed by the sound of glass bottles smashing against the floor. What kept Irisu from calling again was the fact that the noises were getting closer. Eventually they culminated with the door opening, and a disheveled Saya stood in the doorway. Her human form, with hair going in pretty much every direction, smelled of something that Irisu had smelled before, though she couldn't put her finger on what exactly the smell was. The curtains were drawn, like that time when...

It didn't matter now. Irisu pulled back the curtains to see what the room was like, but it earned a pained reaction from Saya, who retreated behind a kitchen table. "Owwww, what the fuck?" She groaned, holding her head and trying to stand up. "Close! Cloooooose!" She was slurring her words. That was the moment when Irisu looked at the floor and saw what the sound of glass smashing and the smell were. Bottle after bottle of Bourbon, presumably stolen from someone else, lay empty on the ground. She...she drank all that? Just looking at all the bottles, Irisu could tell that it was far more than a human could reasonably consume. It was probably enough to kill a horse, but all it had done was made Saya drunk. It was uncomfortable to see her like that too, given how young she looked. "Sorry- _hic_ -about the messss..." She tripped over another bottle, crashing to the floor. Irisu rushed over to her side and was helping her up. "Saya...how long have you been-" Saya shushed her with a finger to her lips. "It's- _hic_ -okay. I paid for aaaaaaaall of it." Irisu was too weirded out to think of anything else at that moment aside from the fact that the once fearsome monster had been reduced to drowning her sorrows with enough Bourbon to supply Leanbox for at least a year.

She hiccuped again. "Irisu..." Irisu was taken aback by the sudden change of attitude. "Yes?" She managed to reply. "Am I pretty~?" Irisu began to get flustered. "Ehm, not like that!" She jumped back. Maybe a little too quickly, as Saya nearly fell, having placed so much of her weight on Irisu. She looked a little hurt, but she slowly shook her head. "I think I'm pre- _hic_ -pretty~" Saya went on. "That's why I chose to look this way." She clumsily gestured to her whole body. Irisu went to get her a glass of water to help her stop hiccuping whenever she spoke. Saya continued to talk, and Irisu continued to listen. Most of it was nonsensical babble about her appearance, from her hair to her sundress. She took the glass of water and gulped it down quickly, it seeming to have worked.

Irisu decided to speak up at last, feeling like she would be listening to plenty of rambling from the inebriated Saya if she didn't. "I just came up to check on you. I was kind of worried because I haven't seen you since..." She stopped herself. Saya's expression turned to one of disgust, before sadness. She started to scavenge around the room, maybe to take her mind off the memories. That was probably why she was drinking in the first place after all. Eventually, she returned to Irisu, with a full bottle of Bourbon in her hand. "Heeeeeyyyy~" She waved the bottle in front of Irisu's face. "Wanna drink?" She asked. Irisu shook her head and snatched the bottle from Saya's hand. For some reason, she was feeling angry. Saya went to get the bottle back, but Irisu shoved her away, earning a surprised reaction. "No!" That was probably the loudest Irisu had been since she was a kid, and both of them knew it. Saya was speechless, even drunk she was still taken aback. "I'm not letting you do this to yourself!" She followed up.

Saya was silent for a minute, before she decided to get angry. "Well, what am I supposed to do~?" She slurred. "I kind of made a huge fuck up, y'know~?" Saya began to move even closer towards Irisu, then placing her small delicate hands on Irisu's shoulders. "I remember how much I enjoyed doing it too, I was gonna keep doing it~"

"Saya, stop!" Irisu wanted to back away, but she couldn't. "If the magician didn't survive, I don't know where I'd be..."

She then buried her head in Irisu's shoulder and...

"I'm sorry."

Was she...? "S-saya?" Prying her head away from her shoulders, Irisu could see tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry for everything I did!" Irisu was taken aback. Saya, the intimidating and manipulative alien monster, was on the verge of bawling her eyes out.

It didn't look like she could hold it in for much longer, but she kept herself from crying as long as Irisu was there. "Well, you can go now~" Saya drunkenly pointed to the door while going to lie down on the couch. Irisu was more uncertain now about leaving than she had initially been about entering, and she found herself deliberately slowing her walk towards the door.

"Wait." The call came as Irisu had her hand on the handle, but she still stopped. "Could you...please stay here with me~?" Irisu was caught off guard. She was obviously very drunk, but it seemes like a lucid moment. A genuine and innocent request. Irisu nodded. "Of course." She made her way over to the couch and sat down, allowing Irisu to rest her head on her lap while she slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Thanks~" She slurrred. "I didn't want to be alone again~. Even after everything I-" "I forgive you." Irisu cut her off. "Now go to sleep. You look tired." Irisu couldn't see her face because it was turned away, but she just knew Saya was smiling.

And even though the two had their history, something like that made Irisu smile too.

* * *

TJ wanted to go and visit Orchid, he really did. Couldn't stop thinking about her, even though she was alive. But he agreed with Jago that they would both go together. He was her brother, after all, and didn't want to be second. Currently though, Jago was still helping Green Heart, meaning he'd have to wait.

Thankfully, he did have something to keep himself occupied. a video Orchid had given him, apparently about Balrog. The only other boxer in the Elite, and a pretty mysterious character. He seemed pretty motivated by money for one, having already worked for Ultratech and only quitting because Green Heart offered double what he was already being paid. It was possible he was just greedy, but his records were mostly scrambled. Only this video existed to serve as his portfolio.

He had almost forgotten about it entirely, but left in his room with nothing else to do, he decided to watch this video. The video started up with some commentary over a bozing match. It was mostly still images, Balrog and some other fighter, but the images and commentary were not in sync, so TJ didn't really know what to make of it.

"First off, my son was not named Balrog." The man began, something of an exasperated sigh as he uttered the name. Underneath, TJ could see the man's name was Greg Bison. "His name is Michael Terrell Bison." A picture of the young kid came up on the screen. It took TJ a second to realize that the kid was Balrog. He looked so different. He was still quite tall for a kid, but he was quite scrawny. As well as that, he had an afro, which seemed very timid compared to his way more intimidating hairstyle that he sported now. "He was a good kid, never smiled much, used to get bullied quite a lot. It was all very tough on him. When his mother left me, he was only four years old." He sighed. "Anyway, one day he came home with his hair in this kind of zig-zag pattern, and he asks me to show him some of my moves." Another picture came up on the screen, and now TJ began to recognize him a little more. He was still scrawny, but the hair made a lot of difference. "Now, I almost said no. But this was the first time he had ever asked me for anything that I could actually give him." After that, more pictures, these ones in black and white, came up on the screen.

The first was of a young black man wearing boxing gloves and a sweat band to keep it out of his eyes. "Now, I used to be something of a fighter back in my day." Greg chuckled. "So I began training him every day after school, but I didn't teach offense. Just defense." There was the younger Greg again, this time in a suit as if he were giving a lecture, next to a blackboard with names of techniques written on it. "Dash Punch" and "Turn Punch" were two moves he saw. TJ never heard Balrog using the names of his moves, but he could make the link. Even all these years later, those two attacks were the bread and butter of Balrog's fighting style. "But then, a few days later, I get a call from the principal's office saying that he put those bullies of his in the hospital. Now that was gonna be the end of it."

TJ knew where this was going. It happened with his dad too, once TJ started to misuse his training. His dad forbid him from boxing once he saw the negative effects it was having, which was what lead him to run away from home. His dad was dead by now though, but TJ never forgot him.

"If he wasn't so happy when he was doing it." That line snapped TJ out of his thoughts and turned his attention back towards the video. Pictures of Balrog with his dad sparring, and running with his gloves on, he even learned to shave and ate burgers with the gloves on, but in all the photos, both Balrog and his dad had wide smiles on their faces. The smile on Balrog's face in particular, it wasn't a menacing one like when he had you in a corner. It was a genuine one, of a kid who was doing something he loved with all his heart. "If there was one thing in this world that your child truly enjoyed, would you take it away from them?" The question was clearly aimed at anyone watching. Greg Bison's words shot through the screen and straight at TJ.

It was a simple question, but TJ couldn't find the answer inside himself. He was speechless, comparing his experience to Balrog's. His mind was blank.

The video moved to another person, a white man with receding brown hair and black rimmed glasses sitting at a desk in an office which was far less cluttered than Greg's. A man named Micah Schultz, who was an author. He wrote a book apparently about an organization named Shadaloo. TJ didn't remember hearing of anyone like that being connected to Balrog, but he figured it would all be explained in due time. This guy seemed pretty animated in comparison to Greg, obviously an avid boxing fan. "He went from this scrawny kid no one had ever heard of to a giant wrecking machine! He was destroying the other kids in his division, those weren't matches to him, those were torture sessions to see how much damage he could inflict on his opponents! It was only a matter of time before he got picked up for the pro ranks." Balrog was starting to develop his usual physique through the montage that played. It was no wonder he was moving on to pro boxing. Even when he was supposed to be sixteen, he could still have been a heavyweight at any level.

The next guy was another black man, older than Greg judging from his grey hair. "Tim Tashun saw Mike Bison fight once, and that was all it took! When Tim Tashun sees a good fighter, Tim Tashun knows it!" TJ could see right through this guy's character. If this was Balrog's coach, then he could certainly see where things went wrong for him. "I said to him, 'You wanna make more money than you can count?'. He gave me the cold shoulder! Then I said to him, 'You wanna put a hurtin' on the best fighters in the world?'" Tim laughed. "From that moment on, Tim Tashun and Mike Bison were a team!"

"The world of professional boxing is a very nasty place!" Greg explained, anger rising in his voice. "And the people who say they're taking care of you could be taking advantage of you. Michael was never a man of thought, he was all action! That can be very dangerous when you let people like Tim do the thinking for you!" Greg said that name like he wanted to find the trainer and 'put a serious hurtin' on him' in Tim's words. The images showed on screen gave a very clear picture. Balrog was no longer with his dad, he was always with Tim though. "I didn't want my boy to lose everything, so I told him that no matter what, always make sure you get paid first!" So that was where his money obsession came from? TJ would never have thought that. A misinterpreted message with good intentions. Good intentions didn't seem like they existed at all in Balrog's mind.

Next the camera cut back to Micah, who continued to talk about Balrog's career. "No one had ever seen a persona like Mike Bison before. He was loud, he was brash, and he didn't care what you thought of him! And the people? They loved it. He was on magazine covers, he was on the televsion, he married the hottest ring girl in boxing, and he was undefeated! He was a celebrity! TJ ould see that. He got on the cover of all the big sports magazines, his wife was stunning, and he appeared on late night talk shows watched by the whole nation. TJ laughed at that bit though, seeing that Balrog kept his boxing gloves on even for that.

"Once Tim got his hands on him, I saw my son less and less." Greg continued, anger rising in his voice. "But I did see him more and more on the television, making a damn fool out of himself!" Balrogwas shown flexing out of a shirt, doing a good impersonation of a wild animal. "Wearing shirts two sizes too small so he could flex out of them before a match! And every fight I saw, he got away with more and more dirty moves!" TJ could relate to most of what was going on, until the images from his fights came up. He had never seen a boxer so intent on hurting his opponent so much. His punches literally lifted the other boxers off the ground into the air. "Every fight, he got away with more and more dirty moves! Now there was a maliciousness growing inside my boy, and all everyone did was encourage it!"

"A fight's a fight." The camera cut back to Tim. "You expect people to be nice in a fight? Get the hell outta here! You talk about excessive action, what's excessive in a fight? And that business with the Sullivan kid? That boy didn't have no business in the world gettin' in the ring with Mike Bison. As far as Tim Tashun was concerned, that was suicide!"

The video cut to footage of the fight. Before that though, it showed a poster. 'BISON V SULLIVAN' it read. Looking at the footage of the fight, it was clear who was winning. Sullivan's quick moves and even faster punches exposed Balrog's lethargic movements. He wasn't completely out of the fight, but unless Balrog could produce a knockout quickly, he wasn't winning.

It just got worse for him though, as Sullivan backed him into a corner and began punching for the head. Balrog didn't try to block, strangely enough, but she showed almost instantly why he didn't block.

Balrog rammed his head straight into Sullivan's face, knocking him out cold instantly. Paramedics rushed into the ring, the referee declared the fight was over, and Balrog went to bask in the supposed 'glory' which he had just earned. The reaction was universally negative though, as the crowd booed and the commentators called him out for his blatant cheating.

As the footage played, audio clips from news reports the following morning played.

"...and this tragedy comes to a close as heavyweight hopeful Joseph M. Sullivan was pronounced dead by doctors at 2:15 this morning..."

"...hours after he was rushed to hospital following a severe head injury in the fifth..."

"...this has been taken as a clear and intentional breach of WBC rules..."

"...Mike Bison, 3 time heavywight champ, is officially banned from boxing..."

Micah seemed rather apathetic, though maybe it was just because he had seen sports stars rise and fall before. It wasn't that uncommon, but even so, for something like that to have happened...

"The only thing the public loves more than watching a star rise, is watching that same star fall." He was right, as TJ knew all too well. "The media had a field day when Mike Bison was stripped of his titles."

It cut to footage of a podcast with some guys who were clearly having fun.

"Okay, so Mike Bison. Turns out, he's not a nice guy."

"What? No way! Get out of here!"

"Yeah, I know, I thought he was a sweetheart too, but turns out, you can't ram your head into another person's skull."

"I thought that was a legal move though!"

"I was with you there, I thought that too. But it's actually an illegal move."

The clip ended. "He became a joke, and then...he kinda faded away into obscurity."

The footage cut to a maximum security prison, with a prisoner being lead out by at least three guards.

"I was working with Mad Gear for a few years before I hooked up with Shadaloo. I was there when Bison was recruited." Jibril Albacara. Former Shadaloo member. That was what the text at the bottom of the screen said. "Vega threw him a lot of money. But Bison would have joined just to keep expressing himself with his fists." Pictures showed Balrog as something of a personal bodyguard to a comically dressed dictator, who must have been Vega.

"Oh yeah, everyone knew Mike Bison was a terrorist. It was all over the news! Reports of a large black man leavin' torn shirts at the scene of arson crimes across Thailand? Who the hell else could it have been?!" Tim confirmed, backed up by photos of Thai police picking up pieces of the shirts.

Micah seemed more serious when the camera cut back to him, knowing that Bison was now a terrorist. "Over the next few years there were reports of Mike Bison stalking, kidnapping and killing various fighters from all across the globe." A map showed the names of various fighters based on their locations on earth, with more and more being x'd off as the map showed for longer. Were those all his victims? "And despite this, Interpol could never find him to bring him in!"

Jibril was smiling when the camera cut back to him, maybe because he was fond of the story he was about to tell. "Apparently, Bison's woman didn't care much for his new lifestyle. When she files for divorce, he becomes paranoid that he's gonna lose all his assets in a lawsuit. Fortunately for Bison, Vega and his top assassin Balrog were...susceptible to gambling." He laughed as the camera cut to more footage. The name Balrog had finally been brought up, but it belonged to anothet person. How?

"Hehey!" It was a pretty crap looking camera, the footage being in black and white. "Have a look at this! This is why you do not go all in, when there's already a pair on the table. TJ knew about Texas hold 'em, and he could agree with Balrog, that being a stupid move. "Not only did my boy Vega and the pretty boy over here lose 4 mil' a piece, they also lost their names!" He laughed again, with the two men. Vega, who looked even more like a Saturday morning cartoon villain up close, and an unnamed claw wielding pretty boy. He did seem like the kind of guy who would be a prime candidate to star in a Fifty Shades sequel, to be fair to Balrog. That couldn't have been Balrog, could it?

He then pointed at Vega. "From now on, you are Mike Bison." He pointed at the Balrog. "You are Vega, and I, I will be Balrog!" He laughed while pointing the camera back to himself. He quickly pointed the camera back at 'Vega', who looked disgusted with what he had gotten himself into. He quickly got out of his chair and left the room without saying another word while 'Balrog' tried to convince him to stay. "Wait, Vega! Aw come on Vega baby, come back! You don't like your new name, I'll give ya another one, uh, how 'bout Sagat!" Both Balrog and 'Bison' laughed at that, before the camera went back to Micah.

"Now, eventually Interpol caught up with the Shadaloo. And since it's supreme leader was dead, and all the other high ranking officials were MIA, control of the organization fell to Mike Bison. Now, this is the first time he's ever really been in charge of anything in his entire life, and quite frankly, he had no idea what to do with it."

"He instructed us to pack it up and move it to Vegas." Jibril remembered. Not very fondly though, judging from his facial expressions. "So the most powerful shadow syndicate in the world was reduced to a petty gang!" There was a shot of Shadaloo grafitti'd on a wall of a run down house somewhere in Vegas. "Bioweaponry and mass arms deals were replaced by grafitti and protection rackets. Within a few weeks, we were down to a handful of men and a few thousand dollars."

There was security footage from inside a casino of Balrog at a Roulette Table, placing a bet before seeing that he had wasted his money. "Hey, that table's fixed!" Someone shouted. "Fixed?" Balrog looked to the guy operating the table. "That's it punk, you cheat, you pay the price!" He then smashed the table with a punch before the screen turned to static and went back to Micah.

"That was the last anyone's ever seen of him. And shortly after that, the remaining members of the Shadaloo Syndicate were rounded up and sent to prison."

"Oh I hope he comes back." Tim Tashun nodded. "He still owes me money! You hear that Mike Bison? You and Tim Tashun still got business!"

"He hasn't been seen in years." Jibril admitted. "And the reason for that is if he isn't in prison somewhere, then he is most likely dead."

Finally, back to Greg. He looked on the verge of tears, and who could blame him? Not TJ, that was for sure.

"My son..." he began. "...got lead down the wrong path by people who took advantage of him. But I know, he'll be ok." He said, forcing a smile. "I just hope, that wherever he is, he's smiling too. You got paid son, you got paid."

With that, the video was over.

TJ wasn't expecting that. His story was more complex than his character suggested obviously, but what struck TJ the most was how he was lead down the wrong path. He wasn't a bad person, but he surrounded himself with the wrong people, and that was important.

That meant that maybe, and just maybe there was a chance...

It was too late today though. First he would visit Orchid with Jago, and then he would focus on Balrog.

* * *

Reimu was enjoying life more than ever in the past couple of days, despite everything that had happened to Gensokyo. It was of course, because she finally had money. She fainted when she got the first cheque. She hadn't even seen that many zeroes in all the years she had been checking her donation box.

Her financial skills weren't great though, and it was only a matter of time before Reimu managed to blow a huge sum of money on something that wouldn't be anywhere near worth what she would spend on it.

The Hakurei Shrine Maiden was always going to be poor at handling money, but the incident at least halted her spending for the times being. That didn't keep her down though, knowing that just a few weeks earlier she was relying on donations from Yukari and the grass growing on the shrine grounds for nourishment. Sometimes Marisa would arrive at the Shrine and find that Reimu had collapsed from hunger, which never got any less horrifying. Though Marisa did tease Reimu a lot about pretty much everything else, she never touched on that. That was a little too close to death for joking around.

Those days appeared to be gone. Marisa promised herself that she would make sure Reimu wouldn't be hungry again. Even if Reimu's money ran out, she'd donate to the shrine whenever she could.

"Hey!"

Marisa snapped out of her trance. "Huh?" Reimu was poking her cheek, trying to get a response. "You spaced out! Everything alright?" Marisa nodded. "Just wondering how everyone else is doing." Reimu had almost forgotten. But it was true, they had left almost everyone they knew back in Gensokyo. They would probably have discovered the Human Village had been evacuated by now, but where did that leave them? So few of them knew about the Elite, Leanbox and Green Heart. Remilia wouldn't leave the Scarlet Devil Mansion, at least not while Flandre was still stuck in the basement with that...thing.

No. It was wrong to worry. They would all be fine. The undead had all been killed, so there was no doubt they would be fine, right?

Reimu promised herself that she would get back to Gensokyo eventually, back to her duties as a miko. Sure, she probably had the money to get away with doing nothing once she got back, but she had been the Hakurei Shrine Maiden for a long time now, even though she was just in her early twenties.

Reimu smiled. "They'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

Marisa internally breathed a sigh of relief. Reimu suspected nothing and was still happy. But while seeing her happy was a sight for sore eyes, it didn't get rid of a lot of doubts in her mind. She had begun having nightmares about rejection, and other things...

They were frequent by this point, incredibly vivid and almost too real. Sometimes there was a terrifying monster, or the ground would literally swallow her, but for the most part it was just being rejected and having to live with the consequences. It didn't seem too terrifying, but it was to Marisa. Nothing scared her more than being rejected. The nightmares only got worse and worse as they became more frequent, and it culminated that night.

Reimu said she felt tired and so she headed back to her roon to get rest, leaving Marisa to herself. The magician wasn't left with much to do. Maybe going to sleep herself wouldn't be a bad idea? But it was the middle of the day, and she wasn't tired. Maybe...

She was going to pay a visit to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She needed to speak to someone about her nightmares. It was just last night she had woken up from the worst of her nightmares, when she knew she needed help.

Marisa shot up like a bolt, sweat pouring down her forehead in buckets. Her eyes darted around her room, confirming that she had only dreamt what had just happened. She breathed a huge sigh of relief as her heart beat slowed down to normal again. It was strange though, she usually didn't have dreams or nightmares that were _that_ vivid, but recently those kind of dreams had become more and more frequent. Her paranoia was getting out of hand, seriously too. She needed help, before she ended up hurting herself or someone else over this.

She went back to sleep first though, then Reimu came by and they hung around for a while. It was only now she had time to even go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. But before she did that, she had a short stop to make.

"Eh?!" Of all the things that had gone on in the Scarlet Devil Mansion in it's long history, Marisa Kirisame returning something she stole was by far the most abnormal. It was Meiling who grabbed her at the gate with surprisingly little protest, along with her incredibly huge bag, and hauled them up to the library, which turned out to be pretty tiring, not letting go of either despite Marisa's protests. Once inside though, she emptied the bag in the middle of the library "I'm starting over." She paused for a minute and stared, waiting for her to admit this was all a farce, something she just did for a kick. But she didn't. She remained 100% straight-faced. "You're serious?!" Marisa huffed. "What the hell does that mean?! 'Course I'm serious, ze!" Patchouli sighed. "It's just awfully strange for you to be doing anything like this..." That really offended the magician. "Well, sorry for trying to change!" Patchy was still amazed that Marisa was this serious about Reimu. She thought it might die down a little after a while, but no. Marisa was dead serious. Patchouli looked at the books as she re-organized them. _Captain Smiley, 'Splosion Man_ and _Portal_? She hadn't seen any of these in years. "If I may, what brought about this sudden revelation that you were to return all my books?"

"Well, I was hoping to talk about that." Marisa rubbed the back of her head. "I've been having really vivid nightmares, and I think it's a sign." Patchouli nodded. "I see. But tell me, how long have you been having bad dreams?" Marisa paused. "A few days now. They get worse and worse as the days go on."

"You don't think it could be a youkai that joined the ranks of the other villains?" The bookworm suggested. Marisa shook her head. "Can't remember anyone who could give bad dreams." Patchouli couldn't either, so maybe it was something else. Still, it was so odd for her. She had never seen Marisa act like this.

In fact, no one at the Scarlet Devil Mansion had ever seen her like this before. Though it was a mixed bag when it came to what exactly she was so worked up about. Some knew exactly why, some couldn't see any reason for her to be like that.

But very importantly, the Lady of the Mansion knew why.

"Does she know?" Remilia asked. "I told her. Whether or not she believes me is entirely up to her." Patchy answered. Remilia nodded. "I see."

It was a little late for any action on that front though, as Marisa was already at the Hakurei Shrine gate, making sure everything was in order. Thankfully, the Shrine hadn't been damaged at all, and remained in very good shape. She was thinking about old memories here, and how many of them she had here with Reimu. It wasn't the greatest looking place in Gensokyo, but it was a special place to her.

Someone did snap her out of her trance. It was one of the Killer Instinct fighters they rescued from the prison, Kim-Wu. "Marisa?" She was startled, but she managed to compose herself enough to turn around. "Yeah?" Kim breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, you are Marisa. Sorry, I'm crap at remembering names. Monika told me I'd find you here." Marisa wondered exactly hoe Monika knew that, but that wasn't important now. Her expression became more serious immediately after that. "It's the Shrine Maiden, Reimu." Marisa's heart jumped after hearing that. "What happened?!" She quizzed. "Is she alright?" Kim-Wu shook her head. "She's not waking up. We know she's alive, but she just won't... .y'know?" Marisa sort of knew. What Kim was saying made sense grammatically, but not a whole lot of practical sense. But she recognized the possibility that Reimu was in real danger, and so she took off on her broom back to Leanbox. "Would've been great to hitch a ride back with you..." Kim muttered, now having to walk back. Wasn't that far, but still.

Arriving back to her room, there was a small crowd gathered. Amongst them, the detective, Cole Phelps, and of course, Monika.

Reimu looked like she was in a lot of pain. There was a twisted expression on her face that seemed to indicate that, though she didn't even toss or turn in her sleep. She made these strange noises like she was scared of something, but that couldn't be. Unless she was having a nightmare of course, but if that was the case, then surely she would have woken up by now, with all the attention she had now attracted.

"How long has she been like this?" Marisa asked. Monika thought for a second. "A few hours now." Marisa tried opening Reimu's eyes, but the instant she let go of her eyelids, her eyes shut again. "What's wrong with her?" Marisa asked, concern rising in her voice. "I can't figure it out. We called the Oracle, so she should be here any minute to help us out."

Sure enough, Chika Hakozaki arrived the next minute, having been informed before hand what was going on.

It was Cole Phelps who stood up and asked the question. "She hasn't woken up in hours despite everything we've done to get her up. Any ideas what's going on?"

Chika nodded. "Well, Lady Green Heart has told me about this before. It's possible something is preventing her from waking, trapping her in a nightmare or sorts." Chika explained. "If left alone for too long..." Everyone knew what she was going to say. The air became heavy with a sense of dread, as the Oracle said what everyone knew she would. "It could possibly kill her." Panic alarms went off in Marisa's head. "What can we do?!" She demanded. "We need to go inside her nightmare and figure out what's going on. Whatever it is that ails her, it should be easily taken care of once we get inside. Lady Green Heart reccomends you all sleep in the meantime. Those of you who intend to enter her nightmare, that is. It will take some time to set up a way into Reimu's subconscious, and we don't know what's in there. Best to have energy for whatever you may have to fight." While they were concerned, the Elite in the room agreed that made sense to all of them.

Even Marisa could see where Chika was coming from, getting ready to rest shortly after they had all agreed. Marisa was going to be prepared to do anything it took. She even took her broom and Mini-Hakkero to bed, ready to respond at a moment's notice whenever she was needed.

What would it be like? Would Marisa have to fight, or would it just be a matter of finding Reimu? Better yet, maybe Reimu would break her own way out.

Those thoughts were the last things to occupy her mind as she closed her eyes and went to sleep.

 ** _Author's Note_**

Not much to get to here, I kinda had trouble keeping myself entertained writing this without an explosion every five seconds but I have had this on my checklist for a while now.

Some stuff between Saya and Irisu which I came up with a little later, was initially gonna be Saya leaving the Elite but I didn't know where to go from there so I figured this would be better to work with, so this was what I came up with for a second. Saya drinking was kinda weird to me at first because she looks 14, but I remembered this is the alien monster who has literally cooked and eaten innocent people, so drinking's probably not too far out of her reach when you consider that. Also, I don't ship this. Sorry, but I just view these two as good friends, nothing more.

The Balrog video TJ watches is basically the 'Balrog: Behind the Glory' fan film, something which I would highly recommend you check out. The reason it's not a word for word recital of that film though is because I figured that would be kind of lazy, so I just wrote it as I remembered it.

And yeah, more ReiMarisa stuff, that I actually do ship. I read Ibarakasen recently, not that it had any influence on how I'm gonna write the rest of this subplot because that shit was mad as badgers, but there was a chapter towards the end I really liked that I can't remember the number of containing some fluff. The real issue is of course that Reimu can't wake up. Wonder who's behind that? We may never know.

Anyway, should be a little quicker with the next chapter, since I'm already a good distance through that one.

Thanks for reading!


	33. Enter the Nightmare

"You ready?" Jago nodded. It was late at night, a time where he'd probably be in bed. Not asleep, but in bed. Gargos didn't allow him to sleep straight away. TJ was the same, but neither were tired just yet. It was the first time since arriving back in Leanbox that either of the two were going to see her, and they were willing to make the effort. It was Jago who steeled himself and opened the door.

There was no security, strange for such a high profile patient, given that security was almost everywhere else in the building. Jago made a note in his mind to mention that to Green Heart, but for now his attention went to his sister.

To be honest, Jago was expecting much worse than what he actually saw. It wasn't pretty, but Orchid did at least look like she was on the road to a safe and successful recovery. Orchid's open eye socket was heavily bandaged and patched up, as was her arm. Or rather, the stump where her arm used to be.

Right arm, left eye. That's what Jago remembered. Those were the two missing appendages.

"Hm?" Orchid looked half asleep and sounded like it too. "Most people knock when they come in y'know." Jago couldn't really say anything, while TJ leaned against the wall, allowing Jago to have his time. "You sound tired." Jago began, not knowing what else to say. "Eh, I'm not that tired. Probably the sedatives." Jago was alarmed. "Sedatives?! And they leave you alone in this room with no protection!" Orchid laughed. "Alright, I'll tell the doctor she's as good as dead the next time I see her. I didn't want any security."

"Why not?" Orchid pulled a face. "Didn't feel like it. I just remembered this morning that I was down an arm and an eye when they woke me up. I kind of freaked out, so they had to use the sedatives to keep me from killing everyone, y'know?" Jago nodded, though he looked sad. It was obvious that he hated seeing Orchid like this, though he wouldn't say it. Orchid would though. "Damn it, I'm sorry you have to see me like this." She sighed. Jago shook his head. "No, this is my fault. I make you worry too much." He solemnly said. "You know I'd worry anyway, right?" Jago nodded. "I concede that, but I must change. Had I acted differently, you might still have your arm and eye." Orchid wanted to go after him again for not opening up and asking for help with Gargos, but Jago was making a huge effort as it was. She could see and appreciate that much.

"Now isn't the time to talk about Gargos, but..." He took off his face guard, revealing his bushy black beard, quickly glancing at her stump. "It seems as though we'll be relying on each other a lot more in the future." He hoped that his words didn't offend her. "Yeah, seems like it." She responded. "Don't take me lightly though, or else I'll kick your ass." Jago smiled a little. "I wouldn't dream of it."

TJ coughed, reminding them both of his presence. "I uh, I was gonna bring flowers and chocolates, but the chocolates melted and the flowers kinda wilted. So..." He fumbled around in his pockets for a few seconds before producing something and throwing it to Orchid. It landed on her chest, a small black piece of leather on some elastic string. Orchid picked it up with her hand. "It's an eye patch. I figured you'd have more use for it than I would." Orchid tried to put it on, struggling for a few seconds before putting it on her head, only with the patch on the wrong side of her head. She soon corrected it though, fixing it so the patch was on top of the bandages. "Well, it fits." Orchid remarked. "You did clean this, right?" TJ nodded. "What a romantic."

"I try my best." He replied. "Ain't easy, but I always do."

A nurse came into the room at that point, telling them that time was up. "Well," TJ yawned. "I suppose it is gettin' late, so we'd best be goin' home." Jago nodded.

"Get well soon, sis."

Wait, what? Sis? When did he start calling her that? TJ seemed a bit confused, while Jago didn't really know how to react. "Don't worry. Wouldn't wanna leave my baby bro on his own for too much longer."

"Come on, don't call me that..." He muttered, embarrassed by the nickname. "Hey, I won't tell no one, okay?" TJ assured him. Orchid laughed. Well, things had gone from weird to really weird. A full on laugh. Maybe it was the sedatives. "Oh man, that was worth it. The look on your face was priceless, Jago."

"Good night." He said again, as he and TJ left the room. "Seriously though, thanks for stopping by." Orchid's eyes were getting heavy. "Means...a lot..." She was trying to fight off the sleep at that point, and so the two left her to sleep.

"I gotta admit, I wasn't expecting her to take this so well." TJ spoke. Jago wasn't entirely sure though. "I think there may be things we do not see." He said. "You think that was a facade?" TJ suggested. "Not entirely, but if she felt weak in any way, she wouldn't say it to us. Not to anyone." TJ chuckled. "I forgot you guys were siblings."

"But still, that's only natural. Most people would be the same." Jago added. "I must step up and be ready to help when I need to."

"I get ya. But don't think this is something you have to do on your own now, a'ight?" Jago nodded.

Truth be told, he felt way more at ease now, able to rest knowing that things were going to be much better between him and his sister.

So when he arrived back at his room, it wasn't long before he was able to fall asleep.

"Jago."

In his dreams? Seriously?

"Just remember this Jago. I'm close to getting revenge on someone who has wronged me before and I need you to exact my revenge, so I'll strike you a deal."

Go away.

"Let me finish! I'll give you my power, something you'll need. It does come with a sword after all."

As if that would help more than his fists. Besides, there was nothing in it for him.

"I'll let you keep full control over your body. The power is yours to do with."

Huh?

"Trust me, you'll need it. Maybe you won't accept it now, but shortly, you'll need it..."

* * *

Marisa was slowly starting to wake up. She felt rested, but also uncomfortable. Had she fallen asleep awkwardly or something? No, but it felt like the matress was really hard. But then she began to notice that things were off. This wasn't her bed. She was wearing her nightgown, so she was definitely right about going to sleep in her bed, and not wherever this was. Her broom and mini-hakkero were with her, similarly positioned to how they were when she fell asleep, which made the whole situation even more bizarre.

Was it a dream? If so, it was a pretty vivid dream. She could feel the ground beneath her feet, exactly as though she were awake. She tried pinching herself and yet she didn't wake up, so what was this? The ground was red, dry and warm, with cracks in it as if it hadn't seen any rain for a few years. There were small mounds where the rocky surface rose and fell, as well as more jagged mounds, but aside from that most of the surface was flat. The moon was very bright too, not unbearable to look at, but it seemed to provide enough light to illuminate the whole place. The last thing was the sky, perhaps the most surreal thing about the location. It was a very unnatural dark purple colour, without any stars. Marisa couldn't explain any of it.

Even if she wanted to though, her thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like muffled screaming. "Huh?" Marisa looked around. She was certain she heard the screams, but couldn't tell where they came from. She looked up, trying to see something that would indicate an emergency, and fortunately she saw something. Smoke was rising from the other side of a jagged rock mound. Marisa rushed over to see what was going on, finding a gap between the rock mounds as she got closer to the screams. As she made her way around the pile, her eyes went wide.

"Reimu?!" Marisa looked over to the source of the screams. A hole in the ground not too far away from her, flames erupting from it. Two small hands gripped the edge while screaming, words were coming out, but they were muffled by something. Immediately, she raced over to the hole and looked down. Sure enough, Reimu was the one hanging on. She was being dragged into the fires by bloody hands which looked like they came from nowhere. One of them covered her mouth, which explained why she sounded muffled. Without thinking twice, Marisa used her mini-hakkero to blast away the arms before Reimu was finally able to haul herself up. It was only then that Marisa got a look at her. She was in her pajamas like Marisa, covered in ash and soot fron the fire which made her look a little dirty. She had to cough up some of the stuff once she got up, but she thankfully didn't appear to have any serious physical injuries.

The shrine maiden then stood up and grabbed Marisa tightly by the shoulders. "You're Marisa!" Marisa was confused. "Yeah, of course it's me. Who else would it be?" The magician asked. Reimu was dead serious too. The wide eyed stare she gave proved that. It gave Marisa enough time to realize how cute Reimu looked, with her hair down, her slightly dirty face and her pajamas as well as the frightened look on her face. She just stood there for a moment before slowly loosening her grip and breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank the Gods..." She muttered. "This place is like a nightmare." She said, looking around to make sure the nearby landscape didn't try to eat her or anything. "How long have you been here?" Marisa asked. "Ugh, it feels like forever. Probably not too long though."

The hole began to close up all of a sudden, as the sound of wings flapping slowly filled the air. Gengetsu licked her lips when she saw the two people responsible for kicking her ass all those years ago. "Hakurei Reimu and Kirisame Marisa." She began. "Fancy meeting both of you here." The two looked confused. "Sorry, but who are you?" Reimu asked. The Illusory Moon, as Gengetsu was known, scowled. "Of course you don't remember me. I wouldn't expect any less from the Hakurei Shrine Maiden." Reimu was offended, but starting to get a little nervous. She was clearly in a lot of trouble, and she didn't exactly have any way to defend herself. Unless this demon was severely allergic to the fabric of her pajamas of course.

Gengetsu wasn't allergic to Reimu's pajamas though, and so she was defenseless. "I should probably explain what's happening before I kill you. This is a dream world of my own creation, which I trapped you in when you fell asleep. You die here, you die in the real world." Things started to make sense to Marisa, though she was getting a sinking feeling in her stomach. "Reimu, run!" She ordered. "Huh?" Marisa was taken aback as she realized how aggressive she sounded. Damnit! Now was not the time for freezing up! "Unless you wanna get killed! Leave the fighting to me!" Reimu wanted to argue, but she didn't have much time. Gengetsu would finish her monologue soon, so she had to move. "I am Gengetsu! The Illusory Moon! And in my world, under my rules, I'll make you wish you hadn't disrespected me like you did!"

Marisa was already back on her broom, ready for a danmaku battle where the odds were firmly stacked against her. As it started, Marisa was already flying away from her target, who gave chase and fired hails of bullets at her. Because this was her dream world too, it was only a matter of time before she caught up to Marisa. The magician anticipated as much though, quickly ducking underneath an attempted tackle which would have taken her off her broom. She capitalized further on her opportunity by firing her own danmaku at Gengetsu, piling on as much pressure as she could before the demon turned around and began firing again. Against Reimu, maybe Gengetsu's danmaku would have torn through anything in her path, but Marisa was prepared. The danmaku somehow created a wall which not a single bullet or laser could get past, until Gengetsu took matters into her own hands. She soared above the wall, giving Marisa just enough time to look upwards and attempt to block the attack, before she ultimately decided to dodge. Gengetsu then slashed at air, cursing her luck as she turned around. Marisa was trying to keep the battle as close to the ground as possible, knowing that Gengetsu would have loved for her to be high enough in the air to fall to her death. What this meant for now though was that Marisa had an opportunity to seriously hurt Gengetsu. Star-like danmaku assaulted the nightmare demon, driving her into the ground with unwavering force. Marisa dropped down to ground level, cautiously inspecting the crater that had been made by the impact. Gengetsu emerged, looking unharmed, and even worse, smiling. Marisa swallowed hard as Gengetsu slowly advanced towards her, probably with a fatal attack already planned.

Marisa looked around, not having time to reach for her Mini-Hakkero. She had her broom, but that was it. Aside from the stones on the ground...

Marisa swept a wave of dust and small stones into Gengetsu's eyes, prompting a coughing fit and for the illusion demon to turn her back long enough for Marisa to fire more bullets, forcing Gengetsu into a retreat. Marisa tried to keep firing, her assault clearly wounding the demon and prompting her to switch up strategies. She raised a wall of bloody flesh from the ground, which the bullets tore through, but it did slow them down, giving her the split second she needed to get away from the fire. Gengetsu fired a single retalliation shot at Marisa who couldn't anticipate the attack in time and ended up being hit. The shot wasn't piercing, instead like a hammer blow and causing her to keel over and wheeze before quickly hopping back on her broom and racing away from the assault, getting her breath back and then retaliating by firing stars and green lazers at Gengetsu, the sudden change in tactics coming as a surprise to the demon, but not something she was unprepared for. She closed her eyes and charged up her most powerful attack.

Marisa's eyes went wide as danmaku exploded from Gengetsu at every angle, impossible to see through, let alone avoid. That didn't stop her from trying though, with her nimbleness coming into play. Marisa didn't know how, but she was flying through the storm, always an inch away from death, but never closer than that. If she had her hat with her now, it would almost certainly have been burned to a crisp. But she did make one vital mistake, and that was forgetting her target. The witch stood up on her broom to get a view once the danmaku had cleared, but Gengetsu was nowhere to be seen. "What the hell?!" Maris looked around frantically for her, but she couldn't see her anywhere.

"Down here!"

Marisa felt her broom snap underneath her, and froze. Shit. She screamed as she fell helplessly towards the ground, making sure to hold onto her hakkero and trying not to land on her neck. At least that didn't happen, she even managed to land on her feet, saving herself from certain death. It was lucky she wasn't too high up, so nothing was broken, but the pain was awful. She cried out in pain, unable to stand for the moment, but kept focused on Gengetsu. Not wanting to give her even a moment, she readied her Master Spark. Without even looking, she fired behind her, hoping the blast would obliterate the demon. She could hear Gengetsu's surprised cry, indicating that the attack had been a success. She didn't celebrate though, as she had to use every ounce of energy in her body to crawl away from the nightmare demon before she had a chance to recover and try again.

But as she was crawling away, it wasn't Gengetsu who stopped her, but the blood substance. It began to form into hands, shooting up from the ground beneath her. At least six wrapped around her broken legs, while two more grabbed each of her arms. A further six grabbed her torso, and a final hand shot up to grab her mouth, stopping her from screaming. Gengetsu was already dusting herself off, looking rather angry for the attempted attack. "You know, I was gonna let you get away if you left me with just the Shrine Maiden. But...I guess I _do_ have a past with you too. It would be wrong not to take revenge on both of you." She towered over Marisa as the hands began to retreat into the ground, dragging her with them. Her muffled screams weren't being heard, and whatever weak attempt at breaking free she could muster, it wouldn't work.

The hands stopped. It was so sudden, but they stopped. Marisa stopped screaming, looking for something that could have happened. Gengetsu's smile hadn't faded, no. If anything, it was bigger than before.

"Finally..." She muttered. "Gargos."

Jago looked as he usually did when Gargos took over his body, but the circumstances were much different this time around.

Jago, for once agreeing with Gargos that they needed to set aside their differences, focused on Gengetsu. There was a maniacal look in her eyes, as if she knew she was going to win, and any fighting done would merely be for show. Jago had already seen such power demonstrated right before his eyes, and knew that if he allowed Gargos to be beaten out of him, as was possible, then he would be done for.

"I hear you defeated Kazami Yuuka one on one. She wasn't even holding back, but she's still scared to talk about you." Gengetsu giggled. "She was burnt and beaten really badly." Gargos cut across her. "What is your point, child?!" She licked her lips when she heard that voice. "Gargos, how I've waited for this. My point is, I want to see that power! I want to see you give everything before I defeat you!"

"I will not let what you did to one of my subjects go unpunished!" He snarled. "Wha-Oh yeah! Gengetsu Jr.!" That nickname made Gargos sick to the teeth, but he held his tongue, allowing Jago to take over. "I see the pride which you take in your work. How you savour the pain that you inflict upon others, not even having the mercy to kill them." He cracked his knuckles, keeping his distance from Gengetsu, but remaining on his toes. "I cannot allow you to continue such disgusting deeds!"

By that point, the first attack had already been launched.

Gengetsu began to fire streams of her white bullets, all flying at lightning speed towards Jago, who braced himself for the attack. It was like taking light punches, but it still hurt. Gargos pushed him on though, as Gengetsu charged up her next stream, Jago created an opening, swinging his sword forward. "ENDOKUKEN!" He screamed, hurling the giant discoloured fireball towards Gengetsu. It pierced her defenses and caught her off guard, only giving her enough time to counter with her laser, exploding both a mere few feet away from her face. Gengetsu shielded her eyes and fell backwards, feeling how hot an Endokuken was even if it didn't hit you. The next thing she felt was a solid punch to her jaw, the kind that would have permanently dislocated a normal human's. Combined with the surprise, it gave Gengetsu tremendous pain, even in her dream world. She staggered backwards, wanting to make a smart remark but knowing neither Gargos nor Jago would give her that time. Jago was swinging his sword for her neck, trying to decapitate her, but she anticipated that, and ducked underneath the swing.

Jago was becoming increasingly agitated and worried that Gengetsu would not stop smiling, which to him meant he wasn't trying hard enough. Alright then, he'd try harder. The demon hadn't been smart enough to back off, being within punching distance of the Tiger Warrior. Jago used his chance, a straight jab that threatened to rearrange her face if she didn't dodge it.

Or block.

Jago was startled as Gengetsu stopped the punch with her own hand, even going as far as to force back his fist, with Jago giving his all to make any kind of a connection. "Ngh!" He grunted. "What is this?!" Gengetsu laughed. "This is my world. I make the rules here, and the rules are that no one's stronger than me!" She kicked him in the gut, sending him flying backwards as she took to the air and began to fire a hail of bullets at him again. Jago could keep doing backflips for only so long before the bullets caught up to him, so he was sure to switch up his strategy before it got to that, as he ducked underneath the next bullet to be aimed at him. Gengetsu saw the clever nature of the strategy, as now she had to catch up to Jago so she could hit him. He had control over the fight now, but not for long. Even with his enhanced speed, Jago wouldn't be able to outrun the bullets forever.

"Pay attention Jago, I've used this technique many times to save your skin. You could do well with it." Jago let Gargos take control for a second, as he reached for his sword.

Gengetsu tried getting arms to shoot out of the ground in hopes of tripping up Jago, but his feet went straight through them, as Gargos had anticipated. Her bullet storm was almost about to connect anyway, so it wouldn't be long before she was back on top again.

"You're good at this." She muttered. "Still, good is not go-" She stopped as something jagged and metal stuck out of her chest, rendering her speechless. Blood began to pour down the side of the sword, spurting out from the top and leaking out the bottom. Before she knew it, she was falling to the ground, and Jago hadn't stopped running. "ENKUKEN!" He yelled, jumping into a perfectly timed rising uppercut.

Gengetsu cried out as the fist connected with her spine. It was like a brick wall had slammed into her as opposed to a fist. She was then sent flying as Jago kicked her away, leaving her pretty much defenseless against him. She wanted to speak, but she was in such tremendous pain that she couldn't even do that. Jago simply walked up to her and pulled his sword out of her torso, getting ready to walk away.

"Jago, what are you doing?!" Gargos demanded. "Kill her!" Jago turned to her again. "I doubt we can do much more." He said, observing her now broken body. Her ribcage and spine were completely broken, leaving her paralyzed and lucky not to be dead already. The huge gaping hole on her back only gave her more reason to just die already, but she still wouldn't go down. "A-a-aa..." She tried to speak, the words not really coming out as anything intelligent. But it was an improvement.

"Well? She's healing! Do it Jago!" Gargos ordered. Jago wasted no more time and plunged his sword into Gengetsu's skull.

Or what he thought was her skull.

"Uh?!" He looked down and saw the smile return to Gengetsu's face as she held the sword in place.

"Silly monk. You can't kill me!" She shoved it back, catching Jago off balance and knocking him into the ground, leaving him with a startled look on his face. Not even Gargos could say anything. "You shouldn't have been so sure of yourself Jago. Now that arrogance will cost you!" Claws began to form on her hands as Jago was getting up, unaware of what she was doing.

But a flute interrupted them both. Yes, a flute. Someone playing a simple tune on a flute, and it had stopped them from killing each other.

"Madotsuki?" Jago looked up, seeing the young girl floating down from above like an angel, playing a flute. So she was doing this? Why? "You can't be serious." Gargos sighed. "If these are your allies then I'm afraid you haven't a hope of stopping me."

Gengetsu tried to use her new claws, but Madotsuki was one step ahead of her, as her head turned into a lamp which shone so brightly it was probably strong enough to go through the ground with how brightly it shone, and that seriously hurt. Gengetsu cried out and tried to shield her eyes too late as the light blinded her. Her pain quickly turned to confusion and anger, firing bullets and slashing her claws in all directions. Her aim suffered heavily, as not once did she come close to hitting either of her targets. Her eyesight was beginning to return, but it was then she realized what she was up against. A lucid dreamer. Someone like that was a disaster to come up against because of their awareness and ability to counter any measures Gengetsu used to get rid of them.

Still, she wasn't invincible. One good hit and she would be down for the count. Gengetsu jumped towards the girl with her claws, as Madotsuki stood there, nervous as always, but appearing a little more calm in the dream world. A towel started to spin around her, and the towel was everything she needed to block Gengetsu. Her claws stuck into it, spinning her around before dumping her off. She couldn't get her claws out though, and so she dropped them just like that.

Jago wasn't ruling himself out of the fight entirely, knowing that Madotsuki was still just a child, with very low endurance and pain threshold. He jumped into the air and aimed towards Gengetsu. "ENDOKUKEN!" He yelled, throwing the giant flaming projectile towards the nightmare demon, with her only managing to avoid it in the nick of time. The ground where the attack hit promptly burst into flames, leaving Gengetsu thankful she had managed to avoid the attack.

She no longer saw Jago as her number one priority, instead focusing on Madotsuki. She needed to die. Gengetsu began to fire barrage after barrage of bullets at the young girl, but she simply disappeared. "Eh?!" Gengetsu was furious. Jago was still there too, so might as well go after him and not have to put up with him later.

Jago readied his sword as Gengetsu started wildly slashing her claws, making an awful noise as they scraped off the sword, but at least it wasn't the noise of tearing through flesh. Gengetsu then switched up plans, flying into the air and firing down bullets on top of Jago, who knew he couldn't count on the same trick twice. The bullets were coming for him though, and he had to defend himself. His sword was a very effective bat, obliterating the projectiles with ease. "Come on!" Jago roared. "Your best is pitiful!" As if to prove a point, Gengetsu was then shot down out of the sky by a barrage of stars.

"Yo!" Marisa landed beside Jago. "You're healed!" Jago exclaimed. "But how?" Madotsuki reappeared beside the two and Marisa pointed. "She even repaired my broom!" Jago wanted answers, but he didn't have any time to ask the questions. Madotsuki shrieked as a red sticky substance latched onto her leg. She couldn't pull it out. "What?!"

Gengetsu laughed. "Fear is a very effective weapon, so it seems." She remarked. Jago and Marisa knew what to do, protect Madotsuki. Gengetsu was going to kill her at all costs. Jago threw himself at the demon, rugby tackling her to the ground and going for a punch to the face, forgetting her strength. She easily grabbed his fist and launched a headbutt which sent him reeling, leaving only Marisa in her way. The substance was now holding down all of Madotsuki's limbs, meaning no escape for the dream child. Marisa put herself between the two, only to be easily swept aside by Gengetsu's strength. Jago quickly picked himself up and dived between the two, blocking an attempted claw with his sword. He then followed up with quick and precise swings that forced Gengetsu to back up, but she still kept smiling. Then, Jago realized she had faked one of her slashes. His sword swung at thin air, and was then knocked out of his hands.

Shit.

Jago punched her in the head with impressive speed, but her claws hit back equally as hard, drawing blood from his shoulder before he could block a second attempt, delaying it for just long enough that he could dodge it and then retaliate. His punches didn't damage her, but they kept her at bay for as long as Madotsuki needed to keep calm.

"YEEOOOWWW!" Gengetsu screamed as Marisa poked her in the eye with the end of her broom, giving Madotsuki just enough time to get out of her prison. "It's the child!" Jago explained. "She can hurt the demon, and we can't!" Marisa understood. "But we can distract her!" She fired a green laser at Gengetsu, countered by a white bullet, allowing Madotsuki to use another of her abilities. A knife appeared out of thin air and shot forward, aimed for her left arm. But it missed, as Gengetsu tackled Marisa to the ground and began clawing at her face. Marisa was lucky the first time that she was only cut on her cheek, but Gengetsu wouldn't make the same mistake twice. She tried to slash again, but her head was violently yanked backwards by Jago, ripping the ribbon out of her hair. He discarded it and plunged his sword into her neck, ending the nightmare, or so he thought. Gengetsu immediately pulled it out and threw it away, and then healed as she stood up.

In what must have been either sheer bravery or sheer stupidity, Jago ran out to meet Gengetsu and the two prepared to swing. "Jago, what the hell are you thinking?!" Gargos demanded, knowing the incredible strength of Gengetsu. Jago said nothing.

Gengetsu roared as she tried to get the first hit in, swinging for Jago's head with enough force to move the air around it.

Jago simply ducked backwards, allowing the punch to sail over his head harmlessly before grabbing her arm. With a clear opening, he kicked her straight in the nose, causing her head to violently rock backwards. She went to hold her now severely damaged face, but even in the short time Gengetsu took to do that, blood was already pouring down her face. "You...BASTARD!" So she did have a few vulgar words in her vocabulary. "TASTE MY ILLUSORY SPARK!" Jago readied his own Endokuken as Gengetsu charged her own attack. Jago felt the ball of fire growing so big he could barely contain it, and that was when he let go. As Gengetsu saw the attack, she fired her own beam, surrounded by dark bullets, it shot forward towards the Endokuken, for the moment of truth.

With that, Jago's hopes of winning were shattered. The Illusory Spark tore through the Endokuken like it was wet paper and headed straight for Jago, who could only watch on in horror as the blast threatened to tear the skin from his bones. It was his turn to scream as the attack lasted for at least ten seconds, only with Gargos' strength to keep him alive.

Once the smoke cleared, Jago's injuries began to show. The Tiger Warrior collapsed, as Gengetsu took off into the air. She raced towards Jago, who simply didn't have the energy to continue fighting any longer. Her newly made claws were ready to rip through flesh and bone, making the irritating monk nothing more than a cloud of red mist.

"Master Spark!" Marisa yelled, as the multi-coloured blast obliterated the demon. Gengetsu screamed as the blast ripped through her like the Illusory Spark had done to Jago, appearing at the end in a severely weakened state. To top it all off, she was pierced through the gut by one of Madotsuki's knives.

Madotsuki healed Jago's injuries before they both turned their attention to Gengetsu along with Marisa. She was writhing on the ground in agony, a blood soaked kitchen knife lying a few feet away with blood splattering all over the ground. Shakily she got to her feet, and looked around. The tables had turned, and it was her turn to get scared. "Y-you!" She pointed at Madotsuki as stinging tears began to stream down her face. "I'll fucking kill you! I'll make you fucking beg for mercy you little shit!" A portal then opened up, and she ran through it as fast as her weakened body would allow.

"Is that it?" Reimu startled them all with that, coming from seemingly nowhere. "Looks like it." Jago nodded. "Tell me though child, how did you do that?"

"I can't explain it very well." She said, in perfect English to Jago's ears. "But this is a dream world. And when I come to places like this, I can make anything happen. I just can." She sounded distant, but the nervousness in her voice when she spoke in the real world was gone. She then turned to Reimu. "This world will collapse. We will have memories of it, but no one else trapped here will. They'll all be very tired though, so we'll have to wait until the afternoon to talk about it."

The three still had a lot of questions, but the world was already literally collapsing. Back to reality.

* * *

Gengetsu returned in far worse shape than she had set out in. Blood coated every showing of skin across her body. Her hair was a mess, no longer with the red bow that held it in place. Her clothes were ripped and torn, and the humiliation of losing inside her own dream world left bitter stinging tears in her eyes. She really was a sorry sight. The Shadowman and ARIA both stared without a word. "It's all that girl's fault!" She sniffled. "You guys didn't tell me she was a lucid dreamer!" ARIA and the Shadowman both looked at each other for answers, but seemingly neither of them knew that. The Shadowman was quick to cover up any fault on their part though.

"I can see I'll have to get you to someone who knows how to do these things properly..." He scratched his chin. "Though that will prove quite impossible at the moment. In due time however, we'll see to it." He looked back at Gengetsu with an unnerving gleam in his eyes, confusing and intimidating her. "Trust me." Gengetsu didn't. "As soon as he teaches you his ways, that Madotsuki girl will be nothing more than a puny child."

* * *

There were a few members of the Elite that woke up and felt as though they hadn't slept of wink, still exhausted. Cole scratched his head as he left his room, dressed as usual, but looking very tired. His suspicions were aroused further when he saw other members of the Elite looked tired too. "Everyone alright?" He asked with a heavy yawn. "Ugh." Dempsey rubbed his eyes. "I had an awful dream last night." He said. "Can't remember any of it though."

"I feel the same." Glacius nodded. "It feels as though something awful happened last night." They could all agree on that, but none of them had any idea what was so bad about last night.

Well, save for a few.

The first thing Marisa did when she woke up was rush to Reimu's room, eager to check up on her precious Miko. The door had been left unlocked since Reimu was incapable of answering the door by herself while trapped in Gengetsu's nightmare world, and it meant Marisa didn't have to wait a moment longer to see Reimu.

She burst in the door and was careful to shut it behind her. Reimu was already up, but clearly not for long. She wasn't dressed or anything, and she looked pretty tired. "Wow." She remarked. "Someone's excited." She yawned. Marisa's face went red as she realized how strange it was for her to run into the room like that. "Ugh...! Erm, I was just happy to see that your safe!" To be fair, that wasn't a lie. "Well, I guess I do owe you for saving me." She smiled. "But I don't know what I could do to repay you..."

Marisa had several ideas in mind, but they all caught caught in her throat. "N-no! I don't want anything in return!" She was quick to inform Reimu. Maybe it was because she was tired, but Reimu didn't seem to note the magician's bright red face. Not that Marisa was complaining. It was then though that Jago and Madotsuki walked in. Madotsuki looked tired as usual, but Jago seemed a little more awake. Jago stopped at the door when he saw the two. "I'm...not interrupting anything, am I?" He asked. Reimu was confused. "What could you be interrupting?"

"Never mind." The monk dismissed the ideas in his head before focusing on what he came in for. "Well, I've been chatting with Madotsuki. I think I finally understand her powers." Madotsuki nodded. "You got it right, Mr. Jago..." The poor girl seemed especially tired, given what had happened last night. "Please try to stay awake." He spoke gently. "Just for a few minutes." Madotsuki nodded before she opened the talking.

"I was telling Mr. Jago about Uboa...she's the one that helped me."

 _ **Author's Note**_

That fight between Shadow Jago and Gengetsu was something I had planned for a while, but because I'm a lazy bastard I only got around to it now. Aside from that, there's more I want to do with this side of the Elite before the next round of fights, but I'll be doing Cortana's side next because there's a lot I want to get to there as well.

Thanks for reading!


	34. Interrogation

Sam, all of Overwatch, Jason, Alex and Doomguy were gone. Captured.

In exchange, Cortana's side had captured Stranger, Francis and Stubbs. Five to three in favour of Vert, just as well that score didn't decide the fight. It was only a 2 member advantage, but the Goddess also had plenty more at her disposal aside from those members. Cortana on the other hand was reliant on the 25 Elite she had, with the few ordinary soldiers she had clearly not standing a chance against anyone Vert had. Cortana's biggest asset was that no one knew where the Elite were based, providing them a strong sense of security, as well as her own computer-like mind. Being able to work much faster, more independently and without fear of being bombed into oblivion by the other side.

"So what's the plan, Chief?" Master Chief asked. "Don't call me that." Cortana replied. Chief laughed. "You sure you don't need help with any of this?" Chief asked. "You're already helping me." Cortana replied. "As are the rest of the Elite."

"You know that's not what I meant." Chief replied. "I know." Cortana answered. "But rest assured, the help you're giving me is enough already."

"I just feel like I could be doing a little more to help you out than I currently am." Chief explained. "Considering I know you and everything." Cortana flinched at the last line, but her voice didn't change. "John, you're doing enough to help me as it is. I know we'll defeat ARIA and the Shadowman." Chief sighed.

Cortana looked over at him. Of course John would want to do it all himself, she figured that from the beginning. That was just his character, even if he had no idea whether or not he actually stood a chance against whatever it was he was up against. "Look Chief," She said. "These guys aren't like anything we've ever gone up against." She warned. "You think I don't know that already?" Chief retaliated. "I've helped you out with this before, haven't I?"

"To an extent." Cortana replied. "I still take care of most of the work myself."

"Huh?" Chief didn't believe that. Cortana took a deep breath. "You're already my most valuable asset. But the best you can do for me now is to remain physically fit and ready to fight. Please Chief, we'll need all the able bodies we can get."

Chief was silent for a moment, but that answer seemed to be enough. "Alright." Chief nodded. "I'd like to help you out some other way, but when you put it like that, I guess I can do that." Cortana was relieved. "Thanks Chief. It's just that I need everyone to be ready. We're outnumbered, and I can't afford to have anyone distracted." Chief nodded. "Understood."

* * *

The cells had been quiet for a while in Leanbox. The ones that housed the members of Overwatch might as well have had no one living in them for the amount of noise they produced. That was a reflection of how low morale was. They had heard a few days ago something that sounded like fighting, but other than that it had been a monotonous and uneventful stay.

Tracer coughed. That was the first noise anyone had made in a few hours. It even startled some of the members, showing how rare any noise was. Jack Morrison in particular was silent. He had to do something, and yet he couldn't seem to do anything. But the more he waited to make his move, the harder it became to do that. The atmosphere felt more and more hostile, and saying something could set them all off.

But...today something felt different. He could feel the words forming in his throat, and all he had to do was say something.

"It's been really quiet lately, hasn't it?" Idiot. Of course it had. What kind of observation was that? "Ya think?" McCree shot back. "Well...he's not wrong." Torbjörn muttered. "Ugh, sorry. That was awful." Jack apologized. Then, he cleared his throat. It was a noise that caught the attention of everyone in the room, as they began to believe their shattered leader might have something to say.

"Look, to say it's been tough these past few days is an understatement. We're in a world we don't understand, most of our friends and allies have been killed, and we're stuck inside this cell until God knows when." He looked around, confirming to himself that he had the attention of all the Overwatch members. "Now, I know a lot of the blame is on my shoulders. You guys trusted me to lead you, and I failed. Because of that, we're all in this mess, no point in sugarcoating it. At the same time though, I believe it's never too late to start over."

"Are you suggestin' we go again from here?" McCree asked. "No." Jack replied. "But we can turn over a new leaf for when we get out, and that starts here." McCree looked around at the other members, wondering if there was any chance at all of coming close to what they once were. The truth was probably not, but they had to have hope at least. No point in not trying. The air was heavy with suspense, anticipating a fight between McCree and Morrison.

But there was no fight. "Y'know what?" McCree began. "Normally I'd kick your ass for sayin' stupid shit like that. But this time...I'm impressed. Takes some balls to say then when the rest of us could just as easy beat the shit outta you." He then went over and surprised everyone by shaking Jack's hand. "I'm ready to do the leaf turnin' when you are." He answered. Torbjörn laughed. "If he is going to agree, then I will as well." Hanzo nodded. "Though it may seem bleak, I understand now the importance of our unity, especially at times like these." Jack smiled. "I'm in too!" Tracer piped up. Reinhardt nodded. "I'll pledge my services too. No matter the situation."

"I don't see the point in not doing amything. You can count me in too." Winston agreed. Mercy smiled. "I was waiting for my team to get back together!" She cheered. Jack was relieved that his plan had worked, but at the same time, he was amazed. It seemed as though the team had never fought at all with each other, and well, Jack didn't see that as too farfetched. It was far more likely they had been fighting with themselves, all trying to take the blame for what happened in that facility, and not wanting to lose any more of their partners.

"That's the response I was hoping to hear!" Jack laughed. "We'll get this team back to what it was in no time!"

But a lot of that was on him, and his failure to lead the team. He felt the same way when that happened, and he let his emotions cloud his judgement. But now there would be no more mistakes on his part. From now on, he would take responsibility for the team like he used to do, and he would lead them to great things.

* * *

"Ngh...let me...at him..." Cuphead grunted as he tried to break free from Mugman's grip. "For the last time, no!" His brother scolded. "We're not letting you interrogate him!"

"But why not?" He whined. "Because we trust Cortana just a little more with the information." Spelunker informed him. He and Jack Cooper had been assigned to stand outside the room and guard it while Cortana and the Jack of Blades interrogated the Devil. "I could do better than her!" He argued. "Sure you could." Jack C. played along. "Don't mock my skills or I'll...I'll show you what for!" Cuphead shot back, still without much success in breaking free of Mugman's grip. "Seriously, why do you wanna go in there so badly? Just for revenge?"

Cuphead froze for just a fraction of a second, but it was enough to let everyone know that Jack C. had hit the nail on the head. "Listen brother, you've had enough revenge as it is!" Mugman tried to reason. "There...will...never be enough!" He gritted his teeth. That was enough to make both Spelunker and Jack C. burst into fits of laughter.

Inside the room, the Devil rolled his eyes. He was disgusted at his current predicament, being captured by the enemy, betrayed by his own right hand man, and left for dead by those he thought were his allies. To make matters worse, he was stuck in an interrogation room with people who seemed like they would kill him at the drop of a hat.

"I think you should know, we have a story from the Lord of Games, who's in the next room. If his story and yours don't match up, then there'll be some serious trouble." Cortana warned.

"I was more concerned with individual gain than anything they were doing." The Devil confessed. "Do you have any information at all?" Cortana asked. "Why would I tell you?" The Devil shot back. "So you do know something." She gave the eyes to the Jack, and he stepped forward. "Listen here. This sword so far today is clean, and I intend to keep it that way. If I am unable to do so because you won't talk, then you're going to regret it dearly." The Devil gulped, seeing how serious they were. "Alright, alright! I'll tell you what I know!"

* * *

"It's really quite simple." Marius explained.

Shepard had come to Marius in the main meeting room to learn more about his attack on Leanbox. To her, or to anyone really, the fact that Marius and his army, with no special powers or weapons, had effectively defeated a much more technologically advanced army seemed impossible. But, as she now knew, it was very possible.

"It's a matter of character." Marius explained. "Those soldiers might have been strong, but they stood no chance against the strength of my legionaries."

"When you say strength, what do you mean? Physical, or mental? I'm pretty sure they'd have you outclassed in the former."

"I mean both." Marius answered. "And what makes you so sure they would have that edge over us?"

"They have more advanced training methods for a start. But really, it's down to the technology. Theirs against yours is a really unfair comparison, so they should wipe you off the map."

"There in lies their failure." Marius replied. "They rely on their technology, whereas we rely on our character. Once they begin to fear us, their true character shows and they begin to crumble." Shepard seemed taken aback. In part, it was because of her own use of technology, it sort of felt like a shot at her too.

"So basically we shouldn't use technology is what you're saying?" Marius shook his head. "I will never use it, but thay is down to my lack of understanding of it. Anyone can use it if they like, but if you aren't competent without it, then you should consider whether or not you're competent enough to fight in wars. The fact that my men are willing and able to overcome anything proves they are worthy of fighting in any war."

Not too far away, Banjo, Kazooie and Conker were all listening in. Kazooie in particular. "Hear that Banjo? If you can't fight without technology you shouldn't at all. Maybe you could give me a break from being a gun for you and use your bare hands?" Banjo didn't seem too impressed. "Maybe when you learn to swim or do some walking yourself."

"Alright, alright, it was a joke." Banjo chuckled as Kazooie was quick to explain that she was joking. "I know. But it was funny to see that." Kazooie groaned in annoyance, but left it at that. "I don't know~" Conker mused, sipping away at a bottle of whiskey. "I think this guy...he has a point~" He took another sip. "When I fought the Great Mighty Poo, I didn't have any fancy shit...just a bunch of huuuuuge fuckin' rolls of toilet paper~" That was when he passed out, letting the small amount of whiskey in his bottle leak out as he fell to the ground.

"That's just...wow." Kazooie remarked. "Who could make such a cute and lovable face into an alcoholic pig like that?" Banjo shrugged. "Beats me."

* * *

The Shadowman, ARIA, King Dice, Dr. West and Gengetsu were all that remained. Well, aside from the armies of Ultratech.

"What's our next step?" Dr. West asked. "We're no closer to our goals than the last time we met up."

"Is that so?" The Shadowman asked, showing a strange device that was held in place with his own strange telekinetic control, whatever that was. A strange golden hourglass-like thing with three bars forming the hourglass shape, decorated with ancient carvings, and with a glowing light blue rock in the middle. "And what is that?" West asked.

"It's the Vrill Device and Focusing Stone in their fused state." ARIA explained. "Their combined power would allow the holder to enter the MPD and take control over the zombies here in our universe." West was a little confused as to how that was a good thing. "But doesn't he already have that?" The Shadowman nodded. "Obviously. But me having it means that currently no one else does, which means I don't have to worry about the likes of Richtofen spoiling my fun." He gripped the Vrill Device tightly with his power, evident from how much he was straining himself, but to West's surprise, he couldn't even put a dent in the thing. "It's designed to be that tough." The Shadowman explained. "To destroy it would be, to my knowledge, impossible. To ensure Richtofen didn't get his hands on it, I'd have to seal it somewhere where he couldn't possibly access it."

"You're kinda dumb, aren't you? Just hide it in some dimension he doesn't know about." Gengetsu suggested. "As if it were that simple!" The Shadowman scoffed. "You say that as though I haven't thought of that already. What about Monty? He would know where to look no matter where I hid it. Not too strange given that he helped create any potential hiding places." The Shadowman paused. "That's two out of three things we need that I have, but it still isn't much good. I'll need to find the Summoning Key. I swear, sometimes I just wonder why I don't just go and take it myself."

"The young vampire with the Summoning Key is more than you could possibly handle, especially considering how susceptible you are to it." The Shadowman sighed in annoyance. "That's not to mention we'll have to find it again once I use it first."

King Dice had missed something. "I hope ya don't mind me for asking, but did you say two outta three? I think you meant one outta two, since we only have-" "The Kronorium is the third item." King Dice looked to the Shadowman as he pulled a big thick book from his coat. "This is the Kronorium. A chronicle on every event that has ever happened in history of my world. It wouldn't record the events of your run in with those cup brothers, but it would remember everything I have ever done, all my successes and failures, all my dealings, and those of people like Monty too." The Shadowman explained.

King Dice nodded to show his understanding. "Anyway, we'll have to get rid of the Elite sooner rather than later if that's the case. I don't want this little girl getting too powerful on my watch." The Shadowman decided. "We can't rush this. You do understand that, right?" ARIA reminded him. The Shadowman waved away her concerns. "Nono, I know the time will come soon. I can feel it."

ARIA wasn't convinced, and so the arguement slowly began to escalate. Gengetsu and Dr. West tried to diffuse the situation, but King Dice was still thinking. Why did they have the Kronorium? Dice had seen a fake one here before, but the way the Shadowman talked about it, it seemed as though the Kronorium on display was 100% real.

King Dice couldn't tell anyway, the book he had seen before looked identical to that one, so really he couldn't see anything to indicate it was different in the slightest.

But then there was another thing. ARIA already had a very comprehensive record of all the people in all the known worlds on the Ultratech database, so it was unlikely this book had any information that wasn't already available.

So unless there was some groundbreaking information in that book, then why would the Shadowman need that book?

* * *

"I see..." Cortana nodded. "That's all I know." The Devil admitted. The Jack pressed his sword against the demon's neck. "At ease. I believe him." Cortana intervened. The Jack sighed. "Can we at least get rid of the moron in the next room?" Cortana nodded. "He lied to us, if what the Devil says is true, and I believe it is."

The Devil heard shouting followed by loud thrashing sounds, and then silence. "I have to thank you once again for your work. It means a lot."

"Just know that I'll only help for as long as this threay prevents me from working." The Jack warned. "I understand." Cortana replied. "I wouldn't ask anything more of you." He seemed satisfied with that.

"So what about the Lady of the Dead?" The Jack asked. "Another pretender who's life I must take?"

"That won't be necessary." The Gunstringer replied, startling them both. "I'll take care of that business myself."

"Where did you come from?" Cortana asked, breathing a sigh of relief. "I heard a ruckus bein' caused by them Cupheaded peabrains." He replied. "I came here and I happened to run into you two."

"I see." Cortana thought. "I'm not so convinced." The Jack cut in. "I don't doubt your skill cowboy, but I do have my doubts about your conviction." The Gunstringer glared at him. "That's a mighty bold statement. You wanna bet on that?"

"That's enough." Cortana stopped them both before they could start fighting. "Look, I understand the circumstances surrounding you and her. If you wanna do it yourself, then I understand. The Gunstringer nodded. "Will do." With that, he was gone. "I'm going to discuss strategy. You can do as you please." The Jack didn't spend anymore time with her, opting to go off on his own instead.

In just an hour, she had met up with Chief to talk. "Nice to see you had a a change of heart." Chief remarked. "Eh, you won me over." Cortana replied. "So what's our next course of action?" Chief asked. "West Manor again. Much stronger assault this time, something we missed is there." Chief looked at her confused. "Are you sure?" He asked. "Positive." She affirmed. "This matters more than anything now. There's a chain of events we have to go through if we want to win."

Chief was concerned. The tone in her voice made her sound like she was serious, but it also sounded...worried? "Cortana, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. But this is an important mission. I want to get this exactly right." She explained. "We should get some more guys. Fenix, Titus, maybe even the whole gang. You at least had those first two with you for planning early on." Cortana looked at Chief. "Look, I know you want them to be 100%, but they can help. If we have them on board, we'll get this plan of yours to be flawless."

Cortana paused, and thought for a second. She nodded. "Right. Let's get this done."

* * *

The Gunstringer was the only one walking around the prison cells, with the other prisoners being mostly silent. Though really, they could have been making as much noise as they liked and he wouldn't have heard it. He was just so concentrated on what he had to do.

He walked up to the cell where the Lady of the Dead was waiting for him. She could probably hear his footsteps and see his silhouette as he walked down the corridor. He said nothing as he got readied the shot that would kill her, raising his gun.

He stood there for a while, staring her down and saying nothing.

The Lady of the Dead chuckled. "You're still afraid to kill me?" The Gunstringer said nothing as his grip tightened on his revolver. "Why is that, I wonder? Maybe you still love me? No, that couldn't be it. I think it's just weakness."

She drew closer to him from her side of the cell. "You look at me and you see your humanity. Or, whatever's left of it. Am I right?"

The Gunstringer said nothing, fixing his hat and refocusing his gun. "So I was right. Tch! I didn't realize you were-" That was all she could say before she was shot in the head, and then shot five more times, enough to knock out whatever life was left inside her. "You were right." The Gunstringer commented, before he turned to leave. Maybe not his humanity, but definitely his time being alive, and that was something he hated to leave behind. Despite that though, he knew he had to kill her, and let go of the past before the past came back to bite him. Overall, it felt in his heart like the right decision, no matter how much it hurt him to say so.

He did what he did, and now there was no turning back.

 ** _Author's Note_**

So I finally got around to doing Cortana's side, even if things went much faster here than on Vert's side. I'll be doing more for this side when they return to West Manor, but rn I'm pretty tired so I don't really have much to say here.

Until Next Time!


	35. Return to and from West Manor

17 of them in total. Chief, Marcus, Marius, Shepard, Rick, Death's Hand, the Jack of Blades, Conker, Banjo, Kazooie, Jack Walters, Blinx, Cuphead, Mugman, Ryu, Kasumi and Isaac. The remaining members, namely the Gunstringer, Joanna, Jack Cooper, Dovakhiin, Kaim, Nick, Niko, Kameo, Shovel and Spelunker, all stayed behind with Cortana to watch the base, as well as helping from the base with a camera feed coming through from Chief's helmet.

"What are we even looking for here?" Chief asked. "Just keep going until you find a gramophone with a blue box next to it. I want you to take both." Cortana explained. "It might be useful sooner or later."

To the surprise of pretty much everyone, the journey into West Manor and back out was almost entirely trouble free. Was Dr. West away? Who knows? But yeah, aside from getting lost once or twice, the whole group was able to get out without even one confrontation.

"Well..." Everyone back at the base was silent. "So much for all that effort." The members began to disperse one by one, until only Cortana remained.

"Imagine that." Cortana turned around and saw the Gunstringer. "Ya set out lookin' for a fight and ya get nothin', but even when ya don't want her, that ol' hag somehow finds her way here." He grumbled.

"About her," Cortana began. "I noticed you killed her."

"S'right." The Gunstringer answered. "I did exactly that."

"But you also let her go. Before, when you were sent to take her down." The Gunstringer stopped. "And who told you that?"

"She did." The Gunstringer then nodded. "I shoulda known that was the case."

The truth was that no one had captured the Lady of the Dead. She simply turned herself in. "You do know how she got here, right?" The Gunstringer nodded. "Crazy old hag turned herself in, right?" Cortana nodded. "Can't imagine why she'd do somethin' so stupid like that though." Cortana knew though. "I imagine that'd be a threat to security or somethin', no?" The Gunstringer suggested. "We found her at the old factory. She surrendered to our forces before anyone could throw a punch or fire a shot." The Gunstringer nodded. "I see..."

"But anyway, she told me why she did it. She said the reason she turned herself in was because of you. She said you might have come to regret it if she just ran free." He wasn't prepared for that, evident from the brief shocked look on his face. "But...why didn't she go back to her posse with that robot and the old fart?" He asked. "They would have killed her. They don't value others that much, they just kind of see pawns instead of people." Cortana explained. "So, instead of constantly running and hiding, she let you choose what happened to her."

He was almost speechless. "Did...did..." Cortana nodded. "She knew more than likely that you would kill her. She accepted that before she made the decision to come here." She confirmed. It took a moment, but the Gunstringer finally regained his composure. "I'll be damned. I guess she wasn't all bad after all..."

"No, she wasn't. She made some awful decisions, but she was nowhere near as bad as her allies." Cortana agreed. "Anyway, I felt like you deserved to know all that." The Gunstringer nodded. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

Blinx had a question on his mind all of a sudden too. Cortana could see him approaching as the Gunstringer left the room, having finished up their chat. "Miss Cortana, I've been thinking about something."

"Oh?" Cortana was intrigued. "Well, I'm wondering about this whole 'Microsoft Elite' thing. What's gonna happen once all of this is over? Are we gonna keep it together?"

Good question. Cortana hadn't thought too much about it, for good reason, but the question was still a good one. "I haven't really thought about it." She admitted. "But assuming we win, I imaginr everyone's gonna want to to go home."

"What about the people that like it here though?" He asked. "I still think they might have to return home." Cortana admitted. "There's every chance they could have work to do back at their homes." Blinx realized that she had a point. "Well...that's true." He conceded. "But some of us don't have a lot to do back home. We could stay here." Cortana knew by now that Blinx was pretty much asking for the Elite to remain together after all was said and done, but she couldn't really guarantee that. The Elite had already put in a superhuman effort to gel together in such a short space of time, and there would also be the few members like the Jack of Blades who were better off not knowing that they were part of a much bigger picture.

"As much as I'd like for everyone to stay here, I can't guarantee that. More than likely the situation is that we'll have maybe five members eligible to be full-time Elite members." Blinx looked a little disappointed, but he nodded to show his understanding. "Right." He said. "Still, I'll keep that idea open. Don't abandon it on me." Blinx then left after that, leaving Cortana alone with that thought. It would have been nice to keep the team together, but she was almost certain that the team wouldn't be able to stick around. All the Elite had their own responsibilities, and their own desires too.

Still, it wouldn't be right to _totally_ rule it out.

* * *

Shovel Knight and Dovakhiin were having a practice match to pass the time while the others returned, both proving to be a match for the other.

The match lasted for a while, until with no clear end in sight, they both agreed to call it quits.

"So tell me about this Enchantress, Knight." Dovakhiin asked. Shovel was about to ask where she heard about that, until he realized he had been talking with Dovakhiin, but it had just been a while ago. "I thought I had told you the tale before?" Dovakhiin shook her head. "I see. Well, I'm more than willing to talk." He then cleared his throat.

"The Enchantress was the result of corruption of someone I knew. A being known as the Remnant of Fate corrupted her and chose to plunge the Kingdoms of my world into darkness, taking over as the leader of the Order of No Quarter, an order of the finest knights known to man, all under the control of a puppet."

"And who was this person?"

Shovel took a minute to answer that one. "Shield Knight." He said. "She was my most trusted partner, year in, year out. We were beyond remarkable as a duo, virtually flawless as we earned more and more riches for taking down greater and greater threats. But then one day we came to the Tower of Fate, where the Remnant of Fate was. I was able to get out before anything could happen to me, but Shield Knight was not. As a result, I was grief-stricken, believing her to be dead."

"But...you didn't know if she was dead? I mean, you didn't see it." Shovel Knight shrugged. "I cannot fathom what I was thinking back then, but I truly believed her to be dead, and there was nothing anyone could have done to change my mind on the matter." He explained.

"But after a year of absence, the Tower returned from seemingly nowhere, and along with it came the Enchantress, and a chance to rescue Shield Knight. I seized the opportunity to go and rescue her, defeating the Order along the way and finally reaching the Enchantress. It was then I discovered that Shield Knight had been corrupted, and how lucky it was that I arrived in time to save her. Together, we then defeated the Remnant of Fate, and left the Tower, restoring peace until...well, until this."

"I understand." Dovakhiin nodded. "Truly a remarkable story. Do you know where any of the knights are?" Shovel Knight shook his head. "I haven't heard from any of the former members, or foes, since arriving here. I think they may be living in another world. I hope that wherever they are, it's much safer than the one we are in right now. They were only being manipulated by the Enchantress after all. It wasn't as if they were bad people who did it because they wanted to spread chaos and destruction." The last Dragonborn was impressed by the attitude of the knight. His character was pretty damn strong for him to not hold a grudge against every last one of them. "You don't have any hard feelings with any of them?" She asked. Shovel shook his head. "I'm afraid that's all I know for the time being." He said, standing up. "Thanks for listening."

"It was my pleasure." She replied.

* * *

Cuphead was whistling to himself as he walked back, pleased that the journey there and retrieving the gramophone had been a hassle-free job. Mugman, on the other hand, was deep in thought, still sure that there was something not quite right. "Everything ok?" Cuphead asked, unable to ignore it. "I just feel like it was far too easy for us to waltz in and take what we wanted..." He answered. Cuphead thought. "You have a point, but I don't know. Maybe we should just be grateful that it was that easy. Could've been a real chore to get it instead, but I don't think anyone would've wanted that, huh?"

"I didn't want to have to break my back, but I'm just saying that maybe this is part of a plan." Mugman countered. "Like, what if we're being followed, or maybe there's an ambush up ahead?" He then called up to the top. "Hey, Rick!" Rick Taylor was the one carrying the gramophone and blue box. He stopped when he heard his name being called. "Yeah?"

"Do you think we can take apart that gramophone?" Everyone was immediately confused by the strange request, all wondering what he could be up to. "Why would you want to do that?" The Jack asked. But before Mugman could explain himself, Jack Walters stepped forward. "I agree."

Those who doubted Mugman were now all of a sudden taking things far more seriously. Jack Walters rarely spoke, so for him to speak up about something must have meant it was serious. "That still doesn't answer my question though, why do you want it taken apart?"

"I feel as though this was bait. Like it was left for us." That was when everyone's eyes went wide. "Impossible!" Ryu exclaimed. "We would have known by now if it was!"

"It's true that it was very easy for us to just walk on in and take this piece of crap." Marcus remarked, kicking over the gramophone. The blue box next to it had no lock on it, but it had a heavy lid. There were five discs inside, as well as a pile of small rocks at the bottom that made no sense to anyone. None of those looked anything like a tracking device. "There's no tracking device in here." Chief announced. "Cortana, are you seeing this?"

"Yeah, but nothing looks like any tracking device I've ever seen." She said, trying to look for any references to anything in the box. No tracking devices. "I see."

Isaac was the one entrusted with taking apart the gramaphone, him being the engineer. Despite the gramophone being made several centuries before he was even born, Isaac was able to take it apart and dissect it, and after confirming that it was indeed, an ordinary gramophone. That only made the Elite more curious as to why Cortana wanted it, but no one said anything.

But that meant that the hunch both Jack Walters and Mugman had was now disproven. "That was a waste of time." Terror Mask grumbled. "Hey, it's better safe than sorry." Chief countered. With that, the Elite were on their way again. But even wth the myth supposedly dispelled, Mugman couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't a tracking device.

But that option being knocked off the menu only narrowed things down ever so slightly. That still left so many things that could have been wrong, and at the end of the day, he doubted the Elite would have the patience to make him feel 100% safe, nor the concern. Cuphead seemed at ease, even with the idea that there could have been a tracking device in the cargo they were carrying, he was so nonchalant as per usual. It honestly kind of freaked him out, but then again, his brother's character did help balance out his own.

Ryu and Kasumi didn't need their characters to balance each other out though. They worked just fine as a unit by themselves. "Well Kasumi? What's next?" Kasumi was confused. "You mean after we get back?" Ryu shook his head. "After we finish up this fight." He rephrased. "Where will you go?"

"I'll probably head back to the clan to see everyone again if I survive this." She said. "I still want to continue my training too."

"But with DOATEC gone, who will you fight instead?" Kasumi drew a blank. Ryu had asked a perfectly reasonable question. "A threat will present itself soon, and then my training will have all paid off."

Ryu had an idea. "You know, you're more than welcome to be my assistant on my own missions." She scoffed. "You make it sound like such an honour."

"Well, I can't offer you the main part, so that will have to do." Kasumi laughed before looking at Ryu. "For the record though, you are much better than you realize, with or without a sword. Your help would be greatly appreciated."

"Thanks." She smiled, knowing the complement was genuine. "I'll consider it." The duo said nothing more and continued walking.

"What do you reckon those records do?" Banjo asked. "They probably summon some beast." Death's Hand answered. "Based on all the stuff that's happened so far, I'd say you're probably not wrong." Rick agreed. "Bullshit." The Terror Mask dismissed it all. "This is probably just an above average record player to give us luck or some other crap."

"It can't be _that_ underwhelming." Chief tried to step in. "Cortana always has a good reason for collecting this stuff, and I can't see any reason why this would be different."

"Should we test it out?" Shepard suggested. "Maybe not." Chief shook his head. "We don't know what we're doing. It's best to wait until we get back."

"Well..." Terror Mask wanted to argue, but he couldn't. "Alright, fair point."

So even though there were a lot of things they liked to butt heads over, they at least could agree on one thing.

Cortana knew what she was doing, even if no one else did.

* * *

Liberty City had been at ease ever since the fight between Team Fortress and Overwatch, without so much as someone looking at the city funny since the fight. But underneath the city, that was a different story.

Cinder had to be careful his flames didn't ignite the pipes supplying gas to to the entire city, but at the same time he had to remember to keep track of Spinal. Having Juri on his side was a help though, as it limited the work he had to do. Even without a sword and shield, Juri was certainly fit to take on Spinal, as she showed.

Spinal blocked another kick fron Juri before he was tackled by Cinder, then double teamed to the ground. He was completely exhausted and all three knew it. "ah...damn it." He cursed. Juri spat. "You're nowhere near as fun as your firey friend." She taunted. "The jig may be up, but I need that mask!" He shoved Cinder off, but he was the immediately kicked in the head by Juri, sending him into a semi-conscious state.

"Do you have any more allies?" Juri shrugged. "Well, I don't know about allies, but they don't wanna kill me or lock me up. Does that count?" Cinder was skeptical, but he knew Juri well enough by now to know what she meant. "I guess."

"Good." Juri gave a thumbs up. "Then I have a few allies, by your definition."

"Yeah, and who are they, more importantly?"

"Ever hear of Balrog?" Cinder thought for a minute before nodding. "The boxer? Sure, he works for Vert, doesn't he?" Juri nodded. "Sure does. Shame I wasn't able to get him on our side." She then smiled half-seductively. "I guess you kinda make up for-" "Alright, that's enough." Cinder forced her away while trying not to incinerate the Korean Assassin. "But anyway, not happening." Juri blew a raspberry. "You couldn't say yeah? We're gonna have to try getting to other worlds if you wanna find the only other allies I have. "Huh?" Cinder then remembered the gap between realitiies. It was entirely possible that Juri was from a completely different existence that he would have absolutely no idea about.

"I see. But we don't have any way of actually getting there, do we?"

"Nah, that makes it a little harder, doesn't it?" She said. This woman was completely insane. Cinder vowed after this to approach all Korean women with the same caution you would approach a container of nuclear waste. She had pretty much dragged him into this, although to be fair, he had allowed himself to be dragged in. It was this or being an easier target for Ultratech to wipe off the map. "Well, any other plans?" Cinder asked. "Let's burn their building to the ground!" She suggested with a spark in her eyes. "I'm pretty sure that the building's fireproof." Cinder countered. Juri sighed and leaned back. "Damn it...you're right." She then thought again. "I guess there's not a whole lot we can do."

"I heard the voices down here!" A voice called out. "Shit." Cinder mutteted. With that, he picked up Spinal and bolted for the nearest exit, with Juri not too far behind.

"Maybe we should pick a better place to fight next time?" She suggested teasingly. "Dumbass! It was your idea to come here in the first place!" Cinder shot back. Juri simply laughed it off, as both of them contiued to run.

* * *

"Alright, we've brought it back. Now what?" Conker asked, having put the gramophone and the blue box on a table.

"It's for emergencies." Cortana explained. "That's informative." Conker muttered. "We don't even know what the damn thing is." She had all the Elite looking at her by now, as they all wanted to know what it was.

"It's kind of hard to explain." Cortana began. "I have to make sure it works first too." After thinking for a moment, she found the words she wanted. "This gramophone is just a standard gramophone. But those discs in that box can play songs which open up portals to other worlds." Blinx picked up one of the discs, examining it. He tried bending it, feeling the edge, and then throwing it up in the air. "Hmmm..." He mused. "These don't feel like vinyl."

"They're not." Cortana confirmed. "They're made of much stronger stuff than vinyl, since their importance makes them a target for many attempts at destroying them."

"Shouldn't we play the songs then?" Alex suggested. "Not yet. It's too risky now." Cortana replied. "This is a last resort option only." That line confused the Elite. "How so? Is it fatal or something?" Cortana gave Conker a weird look. "You honestly think I would let you use it if it was fatal? No. It's completely harmless, but using it may give away our location. That and the fact that we don't know what's on the other side make the whole thing a huge risk, so that's why I'm only going to use this as a last resort." She explained. "On the bright side, we have a means of escape now if things go wrong in the future, and we know that it wasn't bugged."

So now they were one gramophone and a box better off than at the start of the day. Wonderful. Aside from that though, their focus needed to be put back on fighting before Vert's side could get an edge? or else the gramophone was gonna be used sooner rather than later.

"Finally, we're back to fighting." She announced. "If you all listen up, I'll tell you your places."

She searched through her brain for a second before coming up with the information she needed. "Chief, Marius, Joanna, Sun Kin, Cuphead, Banjo, Conker, Jack Walters, Rick, Niko and Nick are all going to Ultratech City. I want you to get inside and damage as much as you possibly can. That'll really hurt them. Then I want the Jack, Jack Cooper, Spelunker, Dovakhiin, Kaim, Kameo, Shovel, Marcus, Blinx, Ryu, Kasumi and the Gunstringer all going after Leanbox. Take as many prisoners as you can. Isaac and Shepard can stay behind with me. I'll need you both here."

They all nodded without second instruction, content with what they had to do.

"We move out tomorrow morning, so you've got until then to prepare and rest up. Hopefully tomorrow is the day where we finally turn this war in our favour."

* * *

"Okay, so you all know what you're doing tomorrow, right?" Vert's Elite nodded. "Just to recap, I want 47, Brutus, Booker, Elizabeth, Cooper, Ezio, Hisako, Gordon, Irisu, Nemesis, Vince, Terrarian and Saya staying back to protect Leanbox. Then I want Alan, Balrog, Cole, Richtofen, Glacius, Jago, Naughty, Madotsuki, Reimu, Marisa, Shu, Steve, Team Fortress and TJ all going to Ultratech City. Destroy everything. Absolutely everything they have. I'll be going with you."

TJ smirked. Orchid would have a fit if she found out they were going on a demolition derby of Ultratech while she was still recovering. Best not to tell her then.

But then there was the obvious thing. If it was time to go after Ultratech so aggressively, it must have meant that they were going to be done with them soon, right?

 ** _Author's Note_**

So it was a little too easy in West Manor for the Elite, or so things seem at the moment. Maybe they just caught a lucky break?

Juri and Cinder are back too, I wanted to cover them again because I felt like it, and don't worry, they'll tie in. There'll probably be more people in their gang in time, but as for now, they're on a limit."

Next time I'll be back to doing fights, it's been a while since the last good fight and I like doing them. There's a lot of fights to get to too, and I kinda wanna space then out as opposed to having every single fight come out in 3 days.

As for length, I'd say give it 10 more chapters as an estimate, I may go a little over or a little under, but that's the region I'm in for this. I think you guys know what's next after this, but my focus is solely on this for now. Getting this done and then deciding when I'll start working on my next story are my priorities in that order.

So that's all for now. Until Next Time!


	36. Huge Battles Part 1

"Well, here we are." Green Heart looked around. "Ultratech City, long overdue for a good trashing. She summoned her drill lance and spoke to the Elite. "Right, I want you to go for their main building. I'm gonna destroy everything else they have, and hopefully attract most of the attention." They all nodded in understanding and got on their way. The people living there must have been evacuated or something, because the place looked deserted. Was that a bad thing? "That's strange. If the organization only cares about itself then why would it bother to evacuate everyone?" Cole asked.

"Public image." Spy answered. "It makes them look good." The detective was surprised to hear that. "They're really concerned with their public image?" Spy shook his head. "Not too much, but if major things were to start happening without anything being done about them, uprisings would be certain. The people here may be blinded, but they are not stupid." Cole was impressed that Spy knew so much about a world he wasn't even from, but he said nothing more.

Even getting to the Ultratech building itself wasn't too much trouble, although they couldn't tell they were being watched. Security cameras from all over the city were providing ARIA and King Dice with everything they needed. "Well well." King Dice began to grin from ear to ear when he say Cuphead and Mugman racing towards the Ultratech building. "Normally in a situation such as this I'd reccomend running away, but for this situation...I'm thinking that staying wouldn't be a half bad idea." ARIA, on the other hand, disagreed. "We're leaving." She said firmly. "They will destroy one another without our interference, not with it." With that, she was gone. King Dice looked nervous for a second before fixing his bow tie, and looking sternly ahead. That only lasted for about a minute before he clicked his fingers and teleported away from the building, going after ARIA. To his surprise, she was waiting for him where he was. "Huh?!" He was amazed. "Don't be alarmed. I was just waiting for you to show up." ARIA informed him. "Still, it's amazing how ya managed to guess where I was gonna go when I could've gone anywhere really. Anyway, let's get outta here, quick." With that, they both began to head for the outskirts of the city, away from the fighting about to take place.

Alan, Balrog, Cole, Jago, Glacius, TJ, Richtofen, Naughty, Reimu, Marisa, Team Fortress, Shu, Steve and Madotsuki were somehow all able to come to a consensus that splitting up and going on their own would be a bad idea, and agreed to stick together. "Green Heart must be doing one hell of a job." Alan muttered. Not one encounter with the enemy and already they were near the pinnacle. Amazing.

* * *

Just as King Dice and ARIA had seen, Cortana's side was approaching from the other side of the city, Chief, Marius, Marcus, Joanna, Sun Kin, Cuphead, Banjo, Conker, Niko, Rick, Jack Walters and Nick were all intent on getting to Ultratech's main building and wreaking havok.

"You can't be serious." Mugman was sweating in anticipation. "This is the second time we've been unchallenged in getting this far. Something has to be up."

"Well, it is kinda odd that they'd leave the door so wide open for us." Cuphead agreed. When Cuphead agreed, that was when they all began to get concerned. If he recognized something as being off, then there was more than likely something seriously wrong. "Just keep your heads up. If they wanna play with the element of surprise then there's nothing we can do other than be ready for that." Chief reassured them. He was wary too, but confident that Ultratech couldn't possibly throw something so devastating at them when they were this close to the pinnacle. That would be suicide.

They slowly made their way up the final stairs to the pinnacle, where they finally saw what challenge awaited them.

Vert's Elite were already pointing guns and getting ready to fight. But that didn't stop Chief and the rest of Cortana's Elite from doing the same. "Y'know, our goal isn't to hurt you. We just want to help you guys see that Green Heart is wrong." Chief tried to reason.

"Would you believe, that our goal is similar? Only difference is, we see Cortana in the wrong." Spy retaliated. "Anything we can do to convince you that we're right?" Marcus asked. "Show us your proof." Cole replied.

Chief sighed. "Look, we don't really have any physical evidence, but Cortana and I have a past together, and I know that she would never do something that was so evil in its intent."

"So that's supposed to be good enough evidence for us all then?" Cole raised an eyebrow. "I'm having a hard time believing you based on that."

"Fine. Looks like neither of us is winning in a debate. Looks like we'll have to settle our differences some other way. Any suggestions?"

Then the room was filled with the sound of dinosaur cries. "Damn it." TJ muttered, knowing now that he had been lead into a trap. "Riptors!" He called out to his group. They all turned around, seeing dozens of Riptors all trying to make their way up the stairs. They were coming up from the other side too, as Cortana's side could see.

Within a few seconds, all hell had broken loose. Most of the Elite on both sides had refocused their attention on the Riptors, seeing them as a more immediate threat.

But that didn't mean everyone saw it that way. Naughty Bear had taken out a baseball bat and was attempting to sneak up on Cortana's Elite. He was closest to a large bare chested man who was midway through decapitating a Riptor.

"Hey Ricko! Got a challenger for ya at six o' clock!"

"What?" Rick turned around just as Naughty was about to swing. Rick knew what to do, readying his arm at the opposite angle to the bat. Once the bat and arm collided, a bright green X sent them both into a one on one fight.

Naughty had almost no time to prepare himself. Rick wasn't someone who appreciated honour and shit in a fight, preferring to go straight for the kill. Naughty learned that as Rick swung for his head. Being a stuffed bear, Naughty was slow, with more cumbersome movements than most of the Elite. He couldn't always be on his toes because well, he didn't have any toes to begin with. This made avoiding the next swing very hard. He wheezed (or he would have if he had lungs) as Rick punched him in the gut and then roundhouse kicked him away. Naughty was quick to pick himself up though. While being a stuffed bear made him slow, it also made him highly resistant to pain. It would take more than a few punches to take him out.

As Rick charged in for another attack, Naughty went with an incredibly gutsy move. He went to jump, something Rick took note of, trying to beat him to the punch, but Naughty pulled out at the last second. Rick soared into the air, leaving Naughty with the perfect opportunity to attack. He pulled out a machete and stabbed Rick through the gut, causing the muscle bound college student to come crashing down to the ground. Naughty then made some form of taunting gesture. To him, it was his intimidating "Boo!" gesture, but Rick didn't feel intimidated. Maybe he just misused the move?

"Whadya know, he thinks he's intimidating. That's adorable." The Terror Mask laughed. "Come on Rick, finish him off before I start feeling bad for him."

Naughty laid down a bear trap before taking out a sledge hammer and taunting Rick with a "Come Here" gesture. "Really?" Rick asked. "You think I'm a fuckin' idiot or something?"

That was when Naughty pulled out his revolver and fired. He nailed Rick in the head with his first shot, before five more shots also hit him, allowing Naughty access to his first special move. He wasn't going to use it though, as he was too far away. He moved forward, past the bear trap, and then focused on Rick. Rick was quick to respond, taking out a shotgun and firing. It wasn't as quick as the revolver, but it was pretty damn strong, knocking Naughty flat on his ass and allowing Rick access to his special move.

He was going to use it though, pulling out a 2 by 4 and going for Naughty. Exactly what he was waiting for. Naughty acitvated his special move, pulled out a ninjato and sliced through the plank of wood as Rick swung.

"Shit." The Terror Mask cursed Rick's bad luck. Naughty then stabbed through Rick's throat, and then pulled out, aiming to decapitate him. However, as the sword cut through the air as it raced towards Rick's neck, a hand shot up and caught it. Rick's hand. Now it was Naughty's turn to have an "oh shit" moment. Rick's hand was bleeding as the blade had cut it open, but he didn't show any signs of pain or letting go. With one swift motion he yanked the sword out of Naughty's arms and bent the blade backwards. Then, he handed it back to Naughty. The bear stared for a moment, and that was a mistake. Rick seized the opportunity and hit him with the force of a freight train right in the nose.

Naughty was reeling. He remembered Saya telling him once that the average human skeleton was in around 206 seperate pieces. After a beating from Rick though, it would have been more like 206 million, thinking of this was his way of saying he was thankful for not having a skeleton at that moment.

But Rick wasn't going to wait around for him to get better, and he knew that. Naughty was quickly up on his feet and barely avoiding a stomp from Rick before retaliating with his own punch. He couldn't hit nearly as hard as the mask wearer, but his strength still surprised Rick. The stuffed bear then pulled out a crowbar and cracked Rick over the head with it, building up his special move meter yet again. It would take a while to reach his goal with it, but he would be almost guaranteed victory with it.

* * *

Sending Riptors after Reimu had only surprised her as it turned out. When it came to disposing of them, Reimu had no trouble, getting rid of them as quickly as they came, thinning their numbers significantly. As well as Steve, she was starting to get bored of exterminating more and more of the prehistoric beasts. "Let's see-Oh!" She saw a man in armour making his way over. He was covered head to toe, with designs on his armour that did appear familiar. It was like a design Meiling would have on something she wore. "Hey you!" Reimu called out, attracting the attention of the man. She pointed her Gohei at him, causing him to run at her, until Steve came between the two of them.

"What are you doing?!" Reimu scolded the blocky man for interfering. "Go attack someone else, I've got this guy!" Steve wanted to argue, but time was scarce and so rather than argue, he did as he was told.

As for Death's Hand, he appeared unfazed. He swung his sword, which Reimu put her Gohei up to block. The move surprised the hell out of Death's Hand, who didn't let up, but could only see one outcome.

But he was far more surprised to see that his sword didn't even damage the stick, instead creating a familiar bright green X and taking them both away from the Riptors. Marisa had seen everything, but she tried to remain focused on fighting off the last of the Riptors, and placing faith in Reimu to get the job done.

Richtofen was next to cross to the other side, trying to pick someone to take out. "Let's see..." He thought it over in his head. Then he heard the sound of a gun being pointed at his head from the side. "...shit." He swallowed hard. "I could see that coming from a mile off!" Jack Walters taunted. "You'll have to do way better than that to get the best of me!" Richtofen then elbowed Jack's arm out of the way in one swift movement, causing him to fire a shot which embedded itself in the floor. Richtofen then pinned down the arm holding the gun causing a bright green X to form, taking them both away to fight.

Once away from everyone else, the two fighters stared each other down. "Edward Richtofen?" It surprised Richtofen no doubt that this man knew his name, but he didn't show it. "Doctor Edward Richtofen." The German corrected him. "I am a chemist."

"I know." Jack Walters responded. "I also understand you might know about supernatural beings. The evil kind that is, y'know, the kind that'd drive anyone insane?" Richtofen saw no point in trying to lie, and so he replied with the information he knew. "The apothicons? Ja. Can you hear them too?" Walters nodded, his eyes growing wide too, starting to unnerve Richtofen with the wild stare he was giving. "I am not surprised." Richtofen muttered to himself. "If this man has been contacted by the apothicons, and he is but an ordinary man, then his sanity would be completely destroyed..."

That was when Jack pulled out a flamethrower and pointed it at Richtofen. "I have so many questions right now, you don't even know! You're gonna help me answer them!" Richtofen casually reached for his MP40, pulling it up and pointing it at Jack. "I would prefer you do the answering." Richtofen shot back. "Und prefereably, it would be back at Leanbox."

Back in the real world, more fights were taking place.

"Hey, Balrog!" Balrog looked over to TJ as he called his name. "Let's take out these two guys while they're busy!" He suggested, pointing to Niko and Nick as they mowed down Riptors. "I'm kinda busy here!" He replied, punching another dino in the head. "Well, if you ain't feelin' up to it then-" "Are you tryna one up me?!" Balrog demanded. "Nah, I already done that before!" TJ shot back. "Annoying little bastard..." Balrog gritted his teeth. "Fine, I'll show you how to fight like a man!"

* * *

"Hey, Ricko! How the fuck are we meant to kick West's ass when you can't even stand up to a fucking teddy bear?!" Terror Mask grumbled. Rick ignored the insults and shoved Naughty away, before he pulled out a harpoon. He swung it around over his head a few times before throwing it. The harpoon shot past Naughty's shoulder before Rick jerked it back. Then it stuck into Naughty's shoulder, giving Rick exactly what he needed. He pulled, forcing Naughty towards him, who struggled to keep on his feet. But that was a mistake, as Rick was then able to line up a brutal uppercut, sending Naughty into the air and then throwing an axe at him. Naughty landed on the ground feeling slight pain, but he picked himself up straight away and took out a baseball bat, hitting Rick across the head twice before switching to a crowbar and coming down on his head. Naughty could feel his special move meter building up the whole time, and knowing that he was getting closer and closer to his goal the whole time kept him going. Rick swung again, but Naughty stood back just in time.

Rick himself was extremely confused. He should have been winning easily, but the bear was keeping pace with him. Being honest, Naughty was probably as disturbing as anything he had faced before, a sentient, six foot tall, worn out teddy bear. Yeah, he really didn't want to lose to this thing, fearing what it might do to him if he lost. Worse still, the Terror Mask was, as always, able to read his thoughts. So that more than likely meant that if he won, the Mask would get some mileage out of the 'I'm afraid of a teddy bear' schtick, like he did when he found out about the clowns.

But that wasn't important right now. What was was that Naughty had taken out a machete and attempted slicing at him with it. He was unskilled, but he was quick with his swings, even getting a few hits in on Rick before switching to a sledgehammer and revving up a huge swing. That was Rick's chance. As Naughty swung, Rick grabbed the end of the hammer, stopping it with the palm of his hand. He then swung it around, firing Naughty and the hammer off to the other side of the floor.

Naughty looked angry as he slowly picked himself up, with Rick keeping his distance. He wanted Naughty to make the first move. He was...pulling out a revolver. So he was gonna shoot? No matter, all Rick had to do was step back to make sure Naughty missed.

Step back...

"Hey, space cadet! Get your head in the game and turn around!"

"Wha-?" Rick turned around and saw it. The clever bastard. Rick remembered Naughty setting a bear trap behind himself, and wondering why he did that. Now he knew.

Almost immediately after that revelation, Rick had to duck as the first shot came in from Naughty. He quickly went around the bear trap, and using all the force his foot could muster, he kicked the bear trap. It went flying through the air like a frisbee, though it didn't come close to Naughty, curling to his far right and crashing through the windows, out onto the streets below.

The other shots were ones Rick had to roll underneath to avoid, closing the distance between him and Naughty enough so that Naughty no longer had the distance advantage. Rick pulled out his shotgun and fired, but his shot only hit to the left of Naughty. It did make him step to the left though, before firing again and getting a decent amount of hits in. His move meter was already over halfway full, and it continued to build up with every hit. Rick could keep tanking the hits, but is was only a matter of time now before Naughty built up to an attack that Rick couldn't whitstand. They both knew that, and their styles of fighting began to reflect that. Naughty began to focus on quicker, weaker attacks while Rick went for more powerful attacks.

He fired a harpoon at Naughty, but the bear narrowly avoided it as it sailed past his shoulder. The harpoon couldn't catch Naughty this time, and even worse, the Bear had noticed something. The green vial floating down from the roof managed to grab Rick's attention too. He had heard enough first hand accounts of these battles to know what that was and what it meant. That vial was his last shot at victory before Naughty made the gap impossible to overcome. Naughty tried jumping up and reaching for it, but that left him wide open to attack. Rick charged ahead, leading with his shoulder, bowling Naughty out of the way with ease. "Damn, he really set himself up for that one, huh?" Terror Mask remarked. But then, Rick put his foot down. A bear trap sprung into life and bit down on Rick's leg, causing immense pain. "DAMNIT!" He gritted his teeth, falling to the ground. "That bastard!"

"Not gonna lie Ricko, that was a pretty good move. You totally fell for it." Terror Mask conceded. "So it's not 'we' anymore then. Good to know." Rick sighed, still in considerable pain. Even then, he had little time to think about it, as Naughty was making his way over with a sledgehammer, and he looked ready to end the whole fight then and there. He was on the verge of his best special move, and now he was close to his Elite Factor to add to that. Rick rolled out of the way of one swing, but found himself then being shot, bringing him dangerously low on health. Naughty had filled his move meter to the brim, and he was now simply waiting for the vial.

Rick had to think of something fast as he rolled away, now too far to catch up to Naughty before he caught the vial. But what could he possibly do from here?

Naughty could almost touch the vial at this stage, his paw seconds away from contact.

 _WHOOSH_

The harpoon flew under his arm, narrowly missing the vial and crashing against the floor. That was far too close. He needed to pay more attention than that, or else Rick could easily try something else in his last seconds. Naughty grabbed the vial and then looked over to Rick.

"Hehehe...now." Naughty was confused, hearing the Terror Mask laugh. It didn't sound like Rick at all, and that unnerved him. The harpoon began to retract, and that was when Naughty realized Rick hadn't missed his target. The harpoon went through the back of his foot, bringing him crashing to the ground and further towards Rick, along with the vial. Naughty couldn't use it while he was moving this fast, which was exactly what Rick wanted. He was getting closer and knew that decision faced him. Rick's legs might have been weakened, but his arms were still strong enough to move mountains. One final jerk and Rick had Naughty literally by his side. He picked the side where the vial was held and quickly pinned down Naughty's arm, killing off any chance of Naughty using the vial. Before anything else could happen, Rick swiped the vial from Naughty's paw, and then ripped it in half over his head, absorbing all the green liquid.

"Ahhhhhhhahahahahahahaha!" Terror Mask begin laughing as Rick began to grow in size, with bone-like spikes jutting out of his back and arms. On his leg, the bear trap burst off, leaving Rick to be in seemingly peak condition.

Naughty cursed his lack of foresight, having given up the vial so easily. No matter, he still had his special move. As Rick slowly advanced towards him, Naughty activated the move, and he was given his bazooka. A standard, but extremely powerful weapon. Maybe he'd be able to dodge a shot if he was lucky, but if he was hit? No chance of surviving.

Naughty fired, hitting Rick's arm. The resulting explosion was incredibly strong, almost blinding Naughty. When the smoke cleared, Rick was still moving forward, minus one arm.

"You're in a world of shit, bear." Rick growled. Naugty payed no attention to the threat, reloading his bazooka while Rick's stump bled profusely. He took too much time though, as Rick punched him in the head with his arm.

Wait.

Hadn't Naughty just blown off that arm? Yeah, he definitely had. He looked up, and to his surprise, the arm looked good as new. Maybe he just imagined that the arm had been blown off, yeah. Time to ry again.

Naughty fired his bazooka, striking Rick's arms as he got them up to block the shot. Naughty could see the arms flying, a huge confidence boost to him as he waited for the smoke to clear.

But Rick didn't.

He lunged out of the cloud, holding himself in the air for just long enough to allow Naughty to see his arms grow back. Naughty's previous confidence had been shattered, and replaced with a fear.

Rick kicked Naughty in the head, with Naughty feeling that it was far more powerful than anything Rick was previously capable of. But even thinking about it took too much time, as Rick's cannon blows came quickly and often, leaving Naughty sore all over. He had to fire his bazooka without even aiming, hurting Rick, but also knocking him back a good distance. He was seriously hurt, and Rick's rage was enough to keep him going for far longer than the social outcast could go in his current state. Rick slammed the ground, causing bones to jut up and send Naughty flying. Rick sprinted towards the airborne Naughty, his arm turning into a boney blade as Rick jumped into the air and slashed upwards. He sliced Naughty in half perfectly and landed, looking as stuffing rained down from above. He then saw Naughty's top half just behind him, almost entirely out of energy, waiting for Rick to finish him off.

The Terror Mask wanted to get in a quick one-liner before the lights went out for Naughty, but Rick sliced his head in half before he could get that opportunity.

"Goddamn it Rick!" The Mask pouted. "Yeah yeah, boo-fucking-hoo, so sorry." Rick rolled his eyes. "I don't appreciate that tone there Ricko!" The Terror Mask warned. "Oh, I didn't know." Rick faked his surprise.

* * *

Death's Hand knew what he was doing against Reimu, but that didn't make his task that much easier. Reimu's ofuda attacks were fast and frequent, and they allowed her to keep her distance, something that put him at a great disadvantage, and left him constantly trying to close the gap.

It might not have sounded that hard, but dodging Reimu's attacks was his priority at that point, and he couldn't balance the two out. Throwing his weapons like spears was out of the question too. That could leave him open to attack, and well, then it was definitely game over.

He was slowly building up his meter though...

In the meantime, Rick was going berzerk on the Riptor population downstairs in the meantime. Everyone knew by now he had already defeated Naughty, and he wasn't showing any signs of even slightly slowing down. He then was distracted as a Riptor tried to attack him from behind, prompting him to throw it through the nearest window with incredible force.

Maybe that force could have been better used to take care of Vert's Elite, but the fact that so many of the Elite were fighting one another kind of made it necessary to stop the flow of dinosaurs somehow.

Death's Hand sliced again, cutting Reimu deep this time. Her advantage had faded almost instantly once Sun managed to get his 4th special move, equipping the Viper Fighting Style. Now, attacks meant that as well as taking damage, she would also lose energy at a steady rate after the attacks. It was all fine once she had him at a distance, but up close he had the beating of her in every department. Every attack she tried was either too slow, too weak or too predictable, and he snuffed them out with ease.

Finishing up, the assassin kicked Reimu in the head, sending her staggering backwards, though she managed to keep her footing. Her breathing was heavy though, as she was down to her last few seconds of that. Death's Hand knew that too, that being the reason he didn't begin attacking her again.

"Well played." He said, bowing to his opponent. Reimu looked over at him with a weird look in her eyes, but it only lasted a second before she fell to the ground, defeated at last.

Just like that, Death's Hand had won against the Hakurei Shrine Maiden.

As they both returned to the real world, Death's Hand was quick to take Reimu down to the next floor, where the flow of Riptors was steadily decreasing. Rick was still in a blood fueled rampage, ripping everything that walked up the stairs apart. He carefully set Reimu down in a corner away from the action, and was hoping to return to fighting shortly after.

"Hey!" Sun Kin turned his attention to the shout, coming from the ordinary magician, Marisa Kirisame. "Are you gonna let her go or am I gonna have to fight you for her~ze?" Death's Hand took a fighting stance. "It will have to be the latter, I'm afraid." Marisa took her broom and tried a few practice swings, confusing Death's Hand. "Your choice bastard! Face my wrath!"

The aggressive response caught him off guard, as he barely managed to get his sword up to block the attack. Fortunately for him though, he blocked the attack. Being sent to a battle meant he had at least a few more seconds to prepare himself.

Marisa wasted no time in launching an offensive though, as a hail of danmaku soon rained down on the assassin. So, it was another projectile user? No matter. He'd just have to use the same patient build up strategy, once the smoke cleared.

Those ideas were soon dashed, as he could make out a faint object moving towards him through the cloud, moving far quicker than he could see. Marisa crashed into him at speed, dealing an almost entirely unexpectedly high amount of damage with that attack. Before he could even try to retaliate though, she was gone. "Well...It appears as though I'll have to use a different strategy, won't I?"

* * *

Richtofen and Jack both returned from fighting, one unconscious and one on his feet. The one on his feet in this case was Richtofen, looking perfectly fine.

Richtofen quickly picked up Jack Walters' body and carried him away from the fighting, until it was finally time to stop. Walters had proven himself to be very strong andversary, albeit not strong to defeat Richtofen.

All the fights were finishing up by that point, though both sides had very little time to keep fighting as it became more likely that ARIA or someone else would show up and take advantage of their fighting.

Nick Ramos and Niko Bellic couldn't stand up to the combined might of the two boxers, even with all their wacky weaponry, it just didn't cut it. "That wasn't half bad." TJ remarked, looking down at them both. Balrog had no comment, returning to beating up dinosaurs.

Joanna had bitten off far more than she could chew. Team Fortress had just defeated her, and it hadn't exactly been close to say the least. The Heavy carried her away while the rest of the team looked for another fight to pick. "Hey Richtofen!" Dempsey called out. "Surely this is all gonna end soon, right?!"

"I can only hope!" Richtofen shouted back. "I cannot make guarantees though!"

It was then that Chief realized that the whole idea was...brilliant, actually. "Hey, guys!" He called out to the team. "No one pick a fight with Vert's Elite, got it?!" It seemed like a nonsensical request. "Huh?!" Cuphead was among the most confused. "But then what do we do?!"

"Stay here and fight the riptors!" Chief ordered. "Ultratech wanted us to wear each other down!" Cuphead still was confused. "I thought those guys were on their side!" He pointed to Vert's Elite. "They're pawns, and it looks like they've served their purpose!" Chief answered, before returning to the riptors.

Down below, Marisa fell to the ground, unconscious. Death's Hand claimed his second victory of the day. Relief washed over him he earned it, feeling geuinely close to losing.

There was something about the way the magician fought that intrigued him. She fought like she had nothing to lose and everything to gain. What could inspire such fighting spirit?

It didn't matter anymore, as both returned to reality with Death's Hand leaving Marisa next to Reimu.

That left Steve and Marius as the only two left fighting.

Steve blocked the first swing, with his strength being tested. Marius then tested his reflexes, which were far too slow to stop Marius from disarming him. Steve began to panic, taking out his pickaxe and swinging. Marius missed the pick, but he caught the handle perfectly, leaving Steve with just half a stick in his hand. "Your weapons may be sturdy, but the wood you use to hold them together is still wood!" After that, Steve dodged the first swing, but he couldn't dodge the second. He was slashed over and over again, and he wasn't even allowed a second between slashes to recover or get his bearings. Marius made it impossible for him to get himself out of the situation he was currently in.

Finally, a slash to the throat ended the fight as Steve lost both the energy and the will to carry on. He collapsed in a heap, giving Marius the victory.

"Alright, everyone focus on the riptors!" Chief ordered. Once that happened, holding them all back became so much easier, with the Riptors having no chance against them all at once.

* * *

Richtofen felt like he was the only one who remembered why they were originally here, as he set about using the Lightning Staff to destroy all of Ultratech's computers. The incredible concentration of energy was far more than the computers were able for, frying them beyond use. "Good..." He muttered. 'The Shadowman will be blind to any further activities of ours from now on."

He looked out the window, seeing something...oh no.

The whole building shook for a few seconds, stopping all fighting. Richtofen looked out the window again, confirming what he saw. It was him, and he had brought rocks. Specifically, 115 meteors.

The Shadowman smiled, a clear indication that he made eye contact with Richtofen, before firing another meteor at the building. The whole ground shook once more, and that was when Richtofen decided enough was enough.

"Come on, let's go!" Richtofen ordered, with Tank picking up Jack Walters. Heavy carrying Joanna, while Balrog picked up Niko and TJ picked up Nick. Once they all had one they bolted down the stairs of the building, trying to get there before the Shadowman had a chance to blow it all up. "Richtofen, what the hell was that?!" Dempsey demanded. "It's him!" He answered. "Damn it!" Tank gritted his teeth. "So it was all a set-up!"

Maybe it was divine intervention, or maybe it was sheer luck, but the Elite on both sides made it out in one piece, even though half the building was missing. That stood as a testiment to its remarkable architecture and engineering to keep it so stable. Meeting up with Green Heart was the next objective, and fortunately they didn"t have to go very far for that. "Well, did you get anything?" She asked, looking completely unharmed in addition to smoke rising up from buildings not too far away.

"Four captures and a metric fuck ton of destruction!" Scout yelled as the Elite continued to make a mad dash out of Ultratech City. Green Heart lesd them out of Ultratech City, with the damage they had done being evident. ARIA would surely feel the effects of that.

Once they were safely away from the city, Green Heart asessed the situation. "Let's see..."

"Well, at least we made the captures. Did you kill off their database?"

"I overloaded them with electricity. In their current state, they are unusable." Richtofen answered. "Good." Green Heart smiled as her drill lance went back to whatever hammerspace it came from. "So what do we do now?" Cole asked. "We're starting to lose a lot of members to Cortana's side, and we don't know where their base is. I suggest we try to find it."

"Fair enough." Green Heart conceded. "But how do you propose we go about that?"

"Simple." Cole answered. "We use someone as bait, and we put a tracker on them, then follow their signals back to Cortana's base. Once we do that, things are gonna be a lot easier." Green Heart had thought about that idea before, but she had her reservations about it. "What if Cortana catches on? She's damn smart, so we'd be lucky to get such a simple trick past her." She explained. "The bait would also have to put up a convincing fight. Not good enough to hold off everything thrown at them, but good enough to make it look like they didn't want to be captured." Cole nodded as he realized the plan would take a little more thought than he initially realized. "You have a point there." He conceded. "But what if we were to create a mismatch?"

"I'm not quite sure I follow." Green Heart replied. "Okay, look at it like this. For Nemesis to lose to him for example, would look really strange since Nemesis has so many clear advantages." He explained, pointing at Niko Bellič. "But, flip that around in our favour. Suppose I went up against the guy covered in the Chinese armour, then it wouldn't seem so suspicious if I lost." Green Heart nodded, understanding the plan, but still not being satisfied. "That still requires a considerable amount of luck. Let's say we designate one person to be captured. How are we going to make sure they come up against someone where they're at a disadvantage? We can't send another Elite member after them, because that would put them back at an advantage."

"Trust me." Cole reassured her. "I'll be the bait for this if you doubt the plan that much."

"Very well." Cole's enthusiasm had won her over by the looks of things. "I'm sure Leanbox's military department has plenty of remote tracking devices we never found any use for."

With that, the group was on its way. It was when they were about halfway there that Cole felt someone tapping on his back. He turned around and saw that it was Madotsuki, with an unusually concerned look on her face. "..." "Yes?" He bent his knees slightly to get down to her level. "...you'll be okay, right Mr. Phelps?" She looked very concerned, even through her own social anxiety. Cole smiled. "Don't you worry about me. I'll be alright." He then stood upright, and held Madotsuki close to him. "Besides, I know you'll get them all for me if anything happens to me." Madotsuki smiled faintly, though she still looked sleepy as always, as if she wasn't registering anything that was being said.

When they arrived back at Leanbox, Green Heart was less than impressed.

Amazingly, it was Orchid who greeted them of all people, and they had just one question for her.

"What hell happened here?!" Green Heart demanded.

* * *

"Well, what do you guys think?" Cuphead was the one who asked the question. It was a good question too though.

A very mixed bag in terms of what happened. Jack Walters, Nick, Niko and Joanna were now all gone, but at least they had their own captives. Reimu, Marisa, Naughty and Steve wasn't a bad return for that much. At least they broken even.

That was the general outlook from Cortana's Elite as they made their way away from Ultratech City. Could've been better, but could have easily been a lot worse. As for how successful the whole thing was, they would have to wait to hear from the other Elite who attacked Leanbox for the full picture.

 ** _Author's Note_**

Back to the fighting, and things are finally starting to pick up. More than a few captures, and Ultratech's main building is destroyed. Still, it was pretty easy. Maybe even a little too easy? We'll see.

Naughty having a resistance to pain was something I imagined he'd have given that he's filled with stuffing. Not an immunity to pain, but it would be really hard to hurt him. Fortunately for Cortana, Rick punches pretty hard. I was watching the last few levels of Splatterhouse 2010 and saw him catching a meteorite shortly before I started writing this fic. There were other feats too, but the meteor stood out because of how he stops it straight out of the air. Needless to say, I was pretty impressed.

Death's Hand beating Reimu and Marisa is one of those "X wins because the plot says so" situations. Idk nearly enough about Jade Empire to say if Death's Hand would actually put up a fight against both of them. Same could probably be said for Marius and Steve, but it's not a regular thing for me. I try to make sure the matchups I pick are even whenever I can.

Aside from that, Isabelle got announced for smash. Lemme be honest here and say that I saw some rather unsavoury depictions of her and that got them both subsequently banned from any future works. But that's not important right now. Next time there'll be more fighting, this time in Leanbox.

Until Next Time!


	37. Huge Battles Part 2

Cortana's Elite finally arrived. The Jack, Jack Cooper, Blinx, Ryu, Kasumi, Dovakhiin, Shovel, Kaim, Kameo, Marcus, Spelunker and the Gunstringer made up a team that was supposed to take down as many of the Elite as possible, or something like that.

"Okay, we're here." Jack Cooper spoke into a small earpiece. "Great. Now, Cortana wants you to get into the basillicom and rewire the camera in the meeting room. Isaac has the instructions here." Since Cortana was instructing the mission in Ultratech City, Shepard was left in charge of the Leanbox mission.

"So we're gonna wiretap it or something?" Jack asked. "Apparently we already spy on them." She said. "Only problem is that we only have audio. So the idea is that this rewiring gives us video feed." Jack wasn't entirely sure why they'd need video feed, but then again, he wasn't the one calling the shots. If Cortana said she wanted it, then fuck it, she could have it.

"Alright then, what's the battle plan?" Jack asked. "Well, since the past visit we paid them, they've really stepped up their defensive front. It's almost impossible for anyone to get in. Two of the borders are against water, so that rules them both out...just checking here, looks like the Elite are mostly concentrated on one border. Try going around and getting in without alerting them to your presence." Shepard instructed.

Jack nodded. "Understood."

* * *

Hisako, 47, Booker, Elizabeth, Saya, Brutus, Gordon, Cooper, Ezio, Irisu, Nemesis, Vince and the Terrarian made up the defence force, along with Leanbox's army, all across Leanbox's land border. The advantage to defending the land border was how small the area to defend was. Leanbox was a massive city, but it only bordered land on two sides, and both of those were being guarded by Leanbox's military. The Elite were able to keep together while the military deduced where Cortana's side would attack from, making their task much much easier.

"Shouldn't be long now..." Booker muttered, very on edge. "I don't know guys..." The Terrarian muttered. "What if they managed to get in already?"

"I dunno, it seems borderline impossible to me." Vince shrugged. "But there's always the possibility they're gonna know where we are before we find out where they are."

"What makes you say that?" Booker asked. "Instinct." Vince replied. "You and I both have seen these guys before. They're serious about what they do." Booker had to admit, the doll had a point, but at the same time, he felt that alongside the Elite, they could definitely find Cortana's side. "Hey, I'm sure we can take 'em." Brutus reassured. "No matter who finds who first."

That was when the alarm was sounded. "REQUESTING BACK-UP IMMEDIATELY!" A voice rang out. With no words exchanged, the Elite all raced towards the site of the supposed breach, ready to shut down the threat before it could grow.

"Well, at least the alarm went off, huh?!" Vince tried to lighten the mood, but it fell on deaf ears. Getting to Cortana's Elite remained a number one priority.

* * *

"Jack, Vert's Elite are closing in! Advising you to split up your group to divide their attention!" Jack didn't need to be told twice. "Alright, everyone in pairs and split up!" He ordered. Jack went with Blinx, Ryu and Kasumi stuck together, the Jack stuck by himself, Kaim and Marcus went together, Kameo, Gunstringer and Spelunker went in the only three, and finally Shovel Knight and Dovakhiin teamed up.

Jack already found himself between a rock and a hard place when he saw that he was being pursued by a seriously angry looking mutated monster. The monster didn't really move too fast, being too unco-ordinated to move any faster than he was currently going. On the other side, something smaller was closing the gap. A hideous looking woman who was able to bend her arms and legs at impossible angles and crawl around in a way that would make anyone's skin crawl, something that made Jack glad he had the excuse of fighting the seven foot deformity known as Nemesis.

"Hey Jack!" Jack looked over to Blinx. "I'll take care of the ghost. You go take care of the camera." Jack didn't need a second invitation, rushing off like the wind to get to the Basillicom. Nemesis growled, giving chase as fast as he could.

Blinx had to steady himself before taking a look at Hisako. There was little he could say about her that wasn't obvious. Her very appearance was frightening, though Blinx couldn't let that get to him. He had to face up to the challenge now, and with a full bag of crystals for the TS-1000 on his back, there wasn't gonna be much of a challenge at all.

"Finally!" Blinx grinned from ear to ear. "I've been waiting to use this!" He flicked the switch on his time sweeper, seeing Hisako lunging at him.

Hisako was prepared to tear the cat to pieces in her blind rage, lunging and slashing at him. But then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone. "Nani?" She seemed more amazed than startled, not knowing how he could have possibly done that. She had followed through with her slash, so it wasn't as if he was invisible, or else he still would have been hit. Then a projectile struck her back. Hisako was knocked on her face, though she was quickly back on her feet and facing her attacker. Blinx. So that was where he went, but she still had no idea how. "Anata wa shindeiru!" She yelled, throwing her Nanigata at Blinx.

The time sweeper made no effort to get out of the way, simply looking at the buttons on his high-tech vaccuum cleaner, before pressing one that said pause.

Immediately, the Nanigata stopped in mid-air, right before Blinx's face. He then stepped out of the way, and moved towards Hisako.

Hisako's war face would probably give him nightmares, but Blinx was more concerned with setting up his next attack, as time would soon run out.

As soon as it resumed, Blinx smacked Hisako with the TS-1000, knocking her to the ground. Hisako had a look in her eyes that showed she was absolutely incensed, but also trying to figure out how Blinx was doing what he was doing.

Hisako then disappeared underneath the ground, giving Blinx very little time to react. He was then pulled to the ground and pinned down, with Hisako beginning to throttle him as he pressed more buttons on his sweeper. Since he was in big trouble as he was, there was no chance of a simple time pause doing anything for him, so he had to resort to other tactics.

He pressed the rewind button, watching Hisako fly backwards, back under the ground and then returning to her original position. He then let time play again, loading the TS-1000 with a fresh batch of crystals before pressing the button with a stop and play symbol on it.

Hisako didn't really understand why there was one Blinx standing still, but the other Blinx was currently moving towards her, making him a far bigger threat. Hisako swung again, being blocked by the Time Sweeper the first time, but then she found an opening on the other side, cutting through Blinx easily. 'Blinx' disappeared in a green flash, appearing back where he started. Hisako watched as two different time sweepers ran out in seperate directions, one normal looking and one green. The green one was mimicking the movements Blinx made before while the ordinary one seemed to act on its own. Hisako remained vigilant for both of them, knowing either one could attack. Speaking of attack...

Hisako spun around and slashed through the Blinx clone, successfully eliminating it then and there. That was close, being close to another attack. But wait. Where the hell was Blinx?

Blinx had just one little thing to take care of first as it turned out. It didn't take him long to catch up to Nemesis, and once he did, it didn't take him long to find a place to put his plan into action. He was passing a fence on slightly elevated ground which had some oil barrels stacked up behind it. Blinx made sure the TS-1000 was fully loaded before stopping time. He activated the vaccuum on the device, uprooting the fence entirely, before stepping up and pulling out one barrel. All the rest remained in place, but now with the pile unbalanced, it was sure to fall. Time resumed as Blinx got away, returning to his battle with Hisako.

Nemesis was unable to stop himself from falling over the barrels and landing on his face. He roared as the oil spilled everywhere, making it hard for him to even stand up. Where did the barrels even come from? Even with his tiny brain, Nemesis knew the barrels couldn't just appear out of thin air, something had to be at work. But what exactly? Nemesis had no idea, and the fact that more barrels were falling on top of him only made it more difficult to think.

* * *

Jack had made it to the Basillicom without any trouble after that, ready to give Cortana the video footage she wanted. "So I gotta ask, how did Cortana get the opportunity to do this?" Jack asked.

"Apparently it was a precautionary measure. Cortana was worried something like this would happen someday." Shepard explained. "She went with just audio because at the time it would have been the most compact option. To intercept video feeds like that would take something more noticable, until now of course." Jack went over to where the camera was, pulling it out and seeing where he could put the new installment.

But before he could do that, he heard a loud cough. The cough was very loud to say the least, it nearly made Jack jump out of his skin, but at least it alerted him to this person's presence. He could see a bunny ear sticking out from behind one of the walls, which was clearly that person trying and failing to hide. He pulled out a pistol and went looking, not in the mood for any bullshit. "Hey, come on out! I see you hiding!" That was enough to draw Irisu out of hiding, with her stale bread roll and stuffed sock. "Mind telling me what it was you were gonna do if I hadn't heard that cough?" Irisu didn't respond. "That's what I thought." Jack muttered. "I'd love to just do my job and get out of here, but if you're here then I can't work. So I'm gonna have to get rid of you." Jack extended his arm, making his invitation clear. Irisu knew what to do, forming the X with her stale bread bat and taking them both into a fight.

Elsewhere, the fight was escalating rapidly to the point where there would soon be no one left to keep fighting. Ryu had just defeated Ezio, Cooper and Vince were both defeated by Kasumi, and Brutus had lost to Shovel Knight. On the other side of the coin though, Kameo had lost to Saya and Spelunker had been beaten handily by Booker and Elizabeth. The fighting raged on with no heed paid to the surrounding environment. The soldiers were on hand to evacuate people from the areas where people were fighting was taking place, and assist Vert's Elite in beating back the threat of Cortana's Elite. Despite their best intentions though, Cortana's Elite wouldn't go down to simple gunfire, and any other weapons would cause massive damage to Leanbox. With that in mind, it was best to leave the fighting to the Elite and just focus on getting the people to safety.

Back with Blinx, Hisako was still standing, her formidable tenacity being the only thing that prevented her from falling over. Hisako had been unable to break down Blinx's strategy, and so she succumbed to it. Blinx was insanely clever with his time stopping too, he knew how to react to situations in an instant, always picking the correct time mechanic to get the best out of often shitty situations. Nemesis hadn't done much better in getting himself out of the oil, failing to get up onto his feet due to the now slippery surface.

Hisako propped herself up with her Nanigata and glared at Blinx, smugly whistling to himself as Hisako's glare intensified. "Y'know, you _are_ pretty creepy. But creepy alone ain't enough to beat me, you gotta be smarter than me too." Hisako clearly hated the taunts.

"Go...to...hell!" Three english words from Hisako's otherwise extremely limited english vocabulary that carried some weight. Blinx was caught off guard, but he didn't show it for long.

"Huh?!" Blinx began to panic as Orchid put Blinx in a chokehold, lifting him off the ground. Blinx began to struggle for breaths of air as Orchid continued to hold him in the chokehold, eventually letting go and throwing him to the ground. She then wasted no time, crossing her arm with the TS-1000 and taking both of them to a battle.

"Huh?" Blinx was confused. "Why would she take me here?"

"I noticed you weren't using your time stopping abilities to start fights. You were using them to avoid a fight at all costs." Orchid explained. "Eh?" Blinx took a step back. "So, Blinx. Since you're so clever with your time stop, beating up a girl with one arm should be a synch, right? Or is that too much for the kitty-cat?"

Blinx's expression hardened. "That's right, no trouble at all!"

Orchid was first to rush in, swinging her eskima stick. She connected once, but after that, Blinx started to take advantage of her one obvious weakness. He backed out of her range and fired a piece of trash at her, knocking her back and forcing her to use her arm to stay upright. Blinx pounced as she did so, getting in at least three solid scratches before Orchid kicked him away. "You little bastard..." Orchid muttered under her breath. "I heard that!" Blinx shot back. "Takes one to know one I suppose!" Neither wasted any more time on insults, preferring to focus on the fight. While Blinx having two arms provided him an advantage, Orchid had far more range with her one arm than Blinx did. He had more attacks from distance though, and that was something he aimed to take advantage of. Blinx aimed into the air above Orchid, firing a 16T weight into the air. Orchid quickly performed her Blockade Runner move, charging forward quickly enough to close down the gap before Blinx could react, then getting enough kicks in to build up to her first special move. Blinx fell to the ground in unceremonious fashion, though he was quick to pick his TS-1000 up and aim at Orchid, firing a blast of sand into her face and prompting a coughing fit. Blinded and confused, Blinx fired another 16T weight into the air, which came down on Orchid this time. The amount of damage Blinx had managed to deal was more than enough for a special move, and he was close to his second by this point. Why not go for it? Blinx ran up to Orchid as she tried to pick herself up, attacking her with claws and a swing of the TS-1000, building up successfully to a second special move.

Orchid immediately closed down the gap again and attacked, ending the attack with her spinning kick, before Blinx activated his special move. He moved around the field for a bit, attacking thin air, no doubt it had to do with his time manipulation abilities, but Orchid couldn't figure out what.

Things returned to normal a few seconds later, with a green Blinx mimicing every action Blinx had taken over the past ten seconds without fail, while Blinx himself attacked Orchid. "You're clever, but that's not going to be enough against me!"

"Tch!" Orchid scoffed as Blinx backed her into a corner. "You're assuming a lot there. You so sure about this plan of yours?"

Blinx was certain of himself though, not buying into anything Orchid would say to throw him off. "Fair enough." Orchid stood up straight, smiling as the green Blinx was inches away from her face.

Orchid might not have been physically as good as she once was, but her Fire Cat was still as strong as ever. The cat soared through the Blinx clone, straight towards Blinx himself. It was satisfying for Orchid to see the look on his face as defeat set in, immediately before the cat attacked, knocking him into the air and then throwing a grenade up, which kept Blinx airborne. He was finished by this point, Orchid knew that. All she had to do was put the final touches on the fight.

Orchid called in her Fire Cat again, and it had far too much for Blinx. The combo of hits wouldn't allow any time for the time sweeper to get any hits in. He was volleyed into the air, then struck again and again by the fire cat, sending him up in the air for one last hit.

Orchid wanted to charge up a projectile between her eskima sticks, but she knew that wasn't possible. She had another way though...

Long story short, Blinx might have lost, but it was a price worth paying. Orchid had used that tactic before, so it didn't really bother her too much.

As it had turned out, Orchid had too much for Blinx. She had only one thing on her mind after that: Separating Blinx from his TS-1000. She carried Blinx to the prison cells, finding one to throw him in without much trouble. She went back for the TS-1000, throwing it in the meeting room of the basillicom.

Wait. Irisu was there. "Hey, you alright in here?" She pointed to Jack Cooper. "He was gonna do something to the camera." She explained, before breaking into a coughing fit. Orchid tried to piece together what she meant by that, and it didn't take her long.

Once she was able to have a look at the camera, she could see clearly what was wrong. The camera was bugged. Orchid was able to see a small device in there that stuck out like a sore thumb. She recognized the device from her military training. But wait...

"You said he hadn't done anything yet?" Orchid asked. "Yeah. He was just going into the room when I started following him." Irisu answered.

But that would mean...it had been bugged for longer? But how? When? Orchid couldn't wrap her head around any of it. But right now, that was the only explanation that made any sense. Then...yeah, that would have made some sense. Green Heart used this room to plan her strategies before she announced them to the Elite, so that could explain how her Elite were always turning up at the same places that Green Heart sent them. Well, Cortana was busted.

"Jack...Jack, are you there?!" Orchid listened carefully to the earpiece. Once it went silent, she responded. "Jack is gone." She said. "The cat's gone too. Call off your troops and we won't chase you. Or else we'll kill every single one of them. Oh yeah, we also know about you guys bugging one of the cameras in the meeting room. No response. "You can kiss it goodbye, cause it's not gonna be around much longer, you get me?" She tried crushing the earpiece with her hands, but it was clearly made of strong stuff.

* * *

The Elite around the city started returning to the meeting room as one by one as Cortana's Elite retreated. Brutus, Cooper, Ezio and Vince were soon discovered to be captured, but on the bright side, Blinx, Kameo, Spelunker and Jack Cooper were all captured. Shortly afterwards, Vert arrived.

Orchid met her as she was returning with the Elite, and it was fair to say that she looked a little mad. "What the hell happened here?!" She demanded. "Cortana's Elite attacked. Fortunately we held them off, but we lost Cooper, Brutus, Ezio and Vince." Orchid explained. "Orchid!" Jago rushed forward. "Shouldn't you still be resting?" Orchid waved her arm at Jago. "There's plenty of time for that later." She said before turning back to Green Heart. "We also found out one of the cameras in the meeting room was bugged. We don't know when exactly it was bugged, but it's been that way for a long time now. If I had to guess, I would say it's been like that since the start." Green Heart looked like she was holding "They had a cat who could control time too, and he was the one creating all the problems for us. Once he was gone, it was easy to get the rest." Orchid explained. "These guys just keep getting weirder." She rolled her eyes, unable to imagine any other scenario in which she'd be doing anything close to this, but here she was.

Green Heart looked around, deeply hurt by the levels of destruction around Leanbox, but she ultimately decided against letting off an emotionally fueled rant, knowing that was the last thing anyone needed at that moment. What was best now was that they regrouped and prepared to go again, in search of better results.

"Right." Green Heart nodded, regaining her composure. "What we do is simple. We keep the room bugged for now." That was a pretty surprising decision. "Are you sure?" Orchid asked, thinking she heard Green Heart wrong. "Absolutely." She nodded. "I want her to know where I'm going next, so we can turn the tables on her once and for all."

 ** _Author's Note_**

So this is what happened while Vert was away, lol. Hisako getting stumped is something I find funnier the more I think about it, so here it is.

Hisako's Japanese is brought to you by the ever reliable source that is Google Translate, and Nemesis survives the oil barrels. He's got too thick a skull to be killed by forbidden juice.

Orchid gets a win after losing an arm and an eye, against the ever frustrating ginger cat. I know I might've lowballed Blinx a little, but eh, he was gonna lose in a one on one fight. His fighting style just works better when he has control of the playing field.

There's not really a lot left to say, we're inside the last ten chapters by now and I've got everything mapped out now, so I'm hoping to have all this done by the end of November.


	38. The Gamble

No one could deny that Cole had serious balls for putting himself forward for a plan as utterly insane as this, combined with the fact that he had suggested the plan with such confidence.

"As it turns out Cole, I just happen to have these chips. I never really found a use for them though, so you're in luck." She explained. "Now, where do you want the chip?" Cole knew the answer straight away, producing a hat similar to his favourite from his coat. He turned it upside down and revealed a false bottom. "I want it sown into the fabric of this hat." Green Heart was surprised by the request, but fair enough. "What if the hat falls off?" Booker asked, it being the question on everyone's mind. "That's a risk I'm willing to take." Cole chuckled.

"So you might be going away for a while?" Cole had met up with Monika, to talk for what Cole hoped would be the last time for a few days. He didn't mean for that to sound as mean as it did, just that he hoped Cortana's side would take the bait.

"That's right." Cole nodded. "With some luck I'll be back soon." Monika thought about what she was going to say for a moment. "Are you sure about this? What if you don't come back?"

"Again, that's something I accepted when I suggested the idea." Cole answered. "But I'm gonna be hopeful. I think it'll go alright." Monika didn't seem too worried, perhaps just more concerned than anything in the first place. Then she remembered something.

"Oh yeah, did you see the new technology that came in?" Cole was intrigued. "Haven't heard about it."

"Apparently it was only installed this morning." Monika explained. "I haven't seen it, but it's supposed to be pretty interesting." Cole didn't know why Monika of all people was telling him this, him being as computer illiterate as they came in the Microsoft Elite, but he was kind of glad that she did. "Is there anyone who knows more about it?" Cole asked. "Yeah, ask Chika to show you. She should be in her quarters right about now."

Cole was already getting up to leave, taking his hat off the table and putting it back on. "Well Monika, until we meet again."

* * *

Alan Wake finally had a chance to catch up with his documentation of everything, having a lot to write. He was amazed at everything he had seen, as well as what he had heard too. So much had happened that he never got to see, though perhaps some things were better off unseen. He was going to take some liberties with his source material anyway, so it wasn't like it mattered that his accounts weren't 100% accurate. He was looking around in one of his coat pockets for a red pen, when he felt a scrap of paper. Odd. Alan took it out, and noticed that it was written in Japanese. Ah! Now he remembered.

Hisako had written this note shortly before Cortana's first attack on the city, and Alan never had the chance to translate it. It wasn't that much that was written anyway, only about three or four sentences, and Alan could still remember the question he asked her: "Could you write down what you feel?"

There was machine in Leanbox's library that could translate text from any language into any other that Alan knew about. Alan didn't know whether or not it was there before the Elite showed up, but at least someone got to use it. The thing looked like it had never been used before with how clean it was. Alan put the piece of text in and waited for minute as the machine spat the text out on a fresh sheet of paper.

Alan took the sheet in his hands and began reading to himself.

 _I hate this._

 _I didn't ask for any of this._

 _I just want people to stop looking at me funny._

Wow. That surprised Alan a lot. It surprised him so much that for a minute, all he could do was stare at the note. It was just something that never really occured to him, that Hisako might have feelings underneath her tough and terrifying exterior. She never spoke about them, though to be honest, she never spoke much with her stammer. Come to think of it, was the stammer something she was born with, or just a result of her own social skills or lack thereof?

It was a lot to think about, and some of it made a lot of sense to Alan. Maybe it was just confidence. She seemed more confident in battle, and she never stammered there. Not even once, simply showing how adept she was at the art of combat. Maybe it made her happy? Alan couldn't say. Hisako was unaproachable, unreadable, almost emotionless, aside from bitted anger and resentment for anyone who picked a fight with her.

But was that a front she put up, or just something she couldn't escape? Alan had to find out.

* * *

Chika was far more composed when Cole met her again in her own little office. She looked a like she had been putting something away quickly before Cole walked in, but nothing looked off.

"Hm?" Chika raised an eyebrow. "New technology?" Cole nodded. "I was told by Monika."

Cole looked at Chika as she thought about it for a second. Maybe she didn't believe him? "But that was only set up this morning, I thought?" Chika muttered. "Well, why do you wanna see it?" She asked Cole. "I'm just curious. I was told this was new technology, but I have no idea what it does. I was hoping I'd be able to find out." Chika thought about it for a minute, before arriving at her decision. "Right, I'm going to have to be honest with you, aren't I?" She cringed at something, though Cole couldn't remember anything that would warrant that. He said nothing though, letting Chika tell the story.

"The machine is designed to get rid of Cortana for good. It'll slowly delete her from existence, eliminating any chance of her coming back." Cole nodded. "That seems reasonable." He replied. "Could you show it to me?" Chika shook her head. "No. But I can show you pictures." She pulled up a virtual screen, showing security camera feed of a room which looked like it was underground, based on the walls looking the same as the walls where the prisoners were held. There was a hugely elaborate control panel in the room, it being the only thing in the room, aside from two doors. One was to go in and out, and the other had 'DO NOT ENTER' in bright red written across the front. There was a screen on the door too, so you could look inside. At the angle the camera was looking at though, it was hard to see anything in the room. "Is there anything in that room?" Cole asked. "No." Chika answered. "Apparently that's where Cortana will be sealed in so she can be deleted." Cole looked at the image again to see if he was missing anything. "So how come I can't go down there?"

"Lady Green Heart's orders, not mine. I didn't ask for a reason." Chika answered. "All I know is that only she is allowed down there for the time being."

Cole didn't really understand still, but he trusted Green Heart. She wouldn't make that rule for no reason. "Fair enough, I understand. Thanks for your time." With that, he got up and left. Oh well. It wasn't exactly what he was hoping for, but he still found out an awful lot. At least he could say that.

* * *

Alan finally found Hisako, training by herself using facilities she had provided for herself. Orchid predicted that she'd probably be doing something like this, wanting to avenge her very near loss against Blinx. Perhaps not just Blinx either, as Alan knew she had lost to Richtofen and some guy called Marius Titus on Cortana's side. She had plenty of wins too, but Hisako was far more likely to remember her losses than her victories.

"Hey." Hisako stopped, and slowly walked over to Alan. It was unnerving, but he knew she was trying her best. If she ran towards him, then she would have frightened the shit out him, or anyone in the same position. He handed Hisako the note back, and she immediately remembered it. Alan then took out a small translator, and began speaking into it.

"We can understand each other without that."

Hisako said that. Without a stammer. Alan was amazed, and he was more amazed by the fact that she was right. It wasn't like he heard what Hisako had said in English, but rather, he heard the Japanese and for some reason he knew what it meant as if he'd been speaking the language his entire life.

Alan was losing track of himself though, he really needed to get to the point. "I managed to translate that note."

Hisako already knew that. "I f-f-figured you would have done so by now." Her stammer was back. So it was just luck that got her over the line after all? "I'm here because I want to ask you about it."

Hisako brushed it off. "I think I s-s-said everything I needed to."

"Maybe. How about what you want to say though?" Hisako paused. "Alright." She said. "I-it's just that sometimes I can get a l-l-little lonely by myself..." Alan nodded.

"I d-d-don't really blame people for being scared. I f-f-find myself to be terrifying too." Well. Alan once again found himself to be stumped. The notoriously terrifying Hisako was scared of her own face.

"I th-thought if I was able to shut myself off then I'd never have to w-w-worry about scaring anyone. But then as time went on and I grew r-r-restless, and more isolated..."

Alan understood now that the stammer Hisako had came as a result of not speaking to anyone. Other than speaking, her social skills were quite good, she kept eye contact, didn't cut across the other person and she listened. "I-I-I just want someone to talk to...but I unders-s-stand if no one wants to."

Hisako wasn't crying, her own stoicism and lack of tear ducts would prevent that, but she looked so genuinely disappointed and hurt. It was the most emotion Alan had seen the onryo ever exhibit, outside of anger. "Well, I'm glad you decided to tell me about this" Alan reassured her. "Anytime you need to, one of us'll be there to help out, okay?"

He put his hand on her shoulder, which was probably a mistake based on how cold and uncomfortable it was to touch, but now wasn't the time to say stuff like that.

Hisako looking at him through her stringy black hair should have been frightening, but it wasn't. She didn't show any ill intent, any signs that she might have intentions of hurting Alan, or anything like that. She simply looked back, with a mix of relief and wonder in her eyes.

"T-t-thank you, Mr. Wake." That much was Hisako speaking English herself. He could tell as it was just a little harder to understand, though the message was still as strong.

"Call me Alan." He said while smiling. "I'll catch up with you later." Without another word, Hisako returned to her training, as if nothing had happened.

* * *

Marisa was slowly waking up. She knew she was in a prison cell, but that was all she knew. A face came into view, kind of blurry at first, and it was calling out to her. Maybe it was her time? No, that couldn't be. Why was she still in a prison cell in that case? That didn't make sense.

"Marisa?" Oh shit. "R-reimu!" Her eyes shot wide open. Reimu breathed a sigh of relief. "You're still alive anyway, thank the Gods." Marisa felt around her head just long enough to realize she wasn't wearing a hat. It was right next to her though, so it wasn't long before the hat was back where it belonged.

"Where are we?" Marisa asked, holding her head as the groggy feeling returned. Did they drug her or something? Marisa felt like that was the only explanation.

"We're in Cortana's base. I've been awake long enough to figure that out. Where exactly that is though, I have no idea. We could be anywhere." Marisa got up slowly and looked around. There was a bed next to where Marisa had been lying against the wall, and one on the other side of the room too. Neither of them had been touched though, meaning Reimu hadn't been asleep. If that was the case, then they couldn't have been here for long at all.

Looking down either side of the hall, Marisa could see more prison cells, most of which were empty, and the only reason she knew some of them were full was because of noises coming from them. "Yeah, it really looks like we're in the middle of nowhere, huh?"

Reimu sat back against the wall, looking defeated. It was easy to see why someone would be looking so dejected at a time like this, though Marisa felt like she should be doing something to lift the spirits of her favourite miko. But what though? Wasn't like she was wrong.

Then she had an idea. Marisa moved over to Reimu and sat down beside her.

Almost immediately, Reimu looked over at her with a seductive look in her eyes, moving her lips towards Marisa's. The magician didn't need a second-

"Hey, are you alright?" Marisa snapped back to reality as her head was leaning towards Reimu's. It took her a second to realize that nothing had actually happened, and it had all been a daydream. Marisa's face immediately lit up a bright red, with the serial thief doing her best to hide her embarassment. "I'm soooo sorry!" She repeatedly apologized. "They must have drugged me-" Wait. Was Reimu...laughing? She was indeed. "Drugs or no drugs, that's adorable." She said, pulling Marisa's apron away from her face, leaving the witch with no cover for her face. "I'm surprised you don't get more guys who are into you." Marisa tried smiling, though she didn't say anything.

"...unless, you're batting for the other team, that is." Marisa's heart jumped. Damn! Had she figured it out so soon?! That couldn't be...

"T-that's kinda out of left field!" Marisa's blush only grew while she stayed turned away. "Ah! I'm sorry!" She clearly hadn't expected such a strong reaction. She was quick to compose herself though. "It just came into my head because...Some people have perceptions that I'm against that kind of thing, and I didn't want to lose any friends because of that. So I'm gonna say it here that I honestly don't care if you are or not." The magician still wouldn't look.

"Marisa?" Marisa turned to face Reimu, even though this was something she found to be almost impossible, so she simply nodded while playing with her hair. "Y-y-yeah, if that's how you say it..." She stammered.

Time must have frozen for a full hour in the seconds between when Marisa had said that and when Reimu spoke, that was how long it felt to Marisa.

Reimu smiled. "Wow, what a stroke of luck..." Marisa's ears perked up. D-d-did she just hear what she thought she heard? "I suppose I should explain myself, huh?" There was a degree of awkwardness in Reimu's speech, like she wasn't really comfortable with what she was going to say next, but even then she kept a very cool head, taking a deep breath before her next words. "I'm kinda in the same boat as you." Marisa's heart was wildly beating by this point, not even believing what she heard. "Y-yeah?" Reimu nodded. "I don't know when I started to notice, but it's been like this for a while now." She explained.

Marisa wanted to say something now more than ever, but despite all her willingness, she couldn't put any of it into practice. There was a lump in her throat preventing any words from getting out, and having so much that she wanted to say only made things worse. She could feel herself sweating as well. 'Say something!' She screamed internally. 'Don't just sit there like a fucking dumbass again!'

Reimu took note as Marisa began breathing heavily. She was getting concerned, seeing that Marisa was sweating as well. "Marisa, are you _sure_ you're alright?" Marisa was desperately trying to come up with a cohesive answer in her head, but she couldn't. She just couldn't. Reimu then placed a hand on her head, catching her totally off guard. She sat there, frozen, not knowing what was going to happen after that.

"You feel incredibly hot." Reimu commented. "I don't know what they gave you, but whatever it was, it sure worked on you." She then stood up, providing some relief for Marisa. "There's not a lot I can do for you now, stuck inside this cell. I think you better get some sleep. I'll probably do the same."

So a few minutes later, Reimu was out like a light, and Marisa was still trying to recover. Admittedly she had calmed down a little, but she was still breathing heavily and sweating. What a sensation. Marisa wanted it again, but at the same time, she didn't know if she could deal with it again. She'd probably pass out.

Then there were those words..."I'm kinda in the same boat as you."

Maybe it was all just a blind wish, but those words...oh man. Those words filled Marisa with hope more than anything ever had. What if she was right? Imagine if Reimu felt the same way...

Marisa eventually, with nothing better to do, fell asleep.

* * *

"Okay..." Green Heart had found it at last. Richtofen was on hand to confirm what she saw. "That is it." Richtofen nodded. "If nowhere else, then this is definitely his base." Now the Elite were paying attention. It was an old house, though there was some more to it than that. There was a field around the house about two hundred yards wide, where there seemed to be this blue energy running through the ground. There was also a small cluster of rocks suspended in the air with a similar blue energy being given off my them.

"That is probably 115." Richtofen explained. "It shouldn't be harmful though, so long as no one dies or sustains a serious injury." Green Heart nodded. "I think just sending a small team would be alright. I don't wanna commit. 47, Booker, Elizabeth, Cole, Saya, Irisu, Gordon, Madotsuki, Shu and you with the rest of Primis."

"Very well. I have no complaints."

Orchid found it strange that no one had taken out the camera yet. It was still going. Still, she said nothing, assuming everyone already knew it was there. That had to be it, right? She did tell everyone that the camera was there, but she had to wonder why no one had fixed such a glaring security threat...

* * *

Cortana was in fact watching them, though she had found the Shadowman's base a day earlier, but she was waiting for Vert to find it too so she knew where the other side was going.

"Right." Cortana muttered. "That's definitely our opportunity to attack them." There was something bugging her though, and it refused to go away. It was somewhat obvious, but no one was paying any attention to the camera, even after Orchid made her threat...

Sure, it made spying on Leanbox a hell of a lot easier, but it just didn't add up. Did she just forget that the camera was there? Could that really happen? "Everything alright?" Chief asked. Cortana nodded. "Just thinking." Cortana replied. "I think we should go after them." Chief suggested. "I mean, if they really are in kahoots with the Shadowman, this can only mean bad things for us. We're really not left with much choice in the matter, as much as it hurts to say."

"You're probably right." Cortana agreed. "If we are going after them, then we'll need a team to go after them. I'm gonna send Banjo, Kazooie, Shepard, Conker, Sun Kin, Dragonborn, Isaac, The Jack, Kaim, Shovel and the Gunstringer."

"Not me?" Chief was surprised. "I want to keep you here for the time being." Cortana explained. "You're more useful to me here." That wasn't the whole truth, but Cortana didn't want to elaborate, and right now she didn't need to. Her suspicions were raised, and she felt as though sending Chief off would only end badly. "I see." That answer seemed to satisfy Chief. He left Cortana by herself, ready to put her final plan into motion. It was a gamble alright, but at such a stage in the fight against evil anything was worth the risk. Cortana wasted no time in getting her team ready to fight, and to be completely honest, they seemed relieved to be going somewhere. It was almost like they were getting tense too, with so many of their teammated being captured that hanging around the base without them felt like isolation.

Either way, they were more than prepared to fight.

* * *

Ultratech City wasn't the same after the attack. It went without saying, but attacking the main building with meteor, especially a tall one like Ultratech's HQ, was likely to collapse the entire thing.

"It will take at least a month to rebuild." ARIA explained. "We don't have a month." The Shadowman countered. "One of those two will destroy the other shortly, that's a guarantee now. And based on information I now know to be true, combined with my own plans, I would give them at most a week before one side crumbles."

"Is that so?" ARIA was impressed. "And if that is the case, then what are your future plans for this city?"

"This city will be saved." The Shadowman assured her. "There is no benefit for me to have this city gone." ARIA wasn't so sure though. "Then why was this city destroyed in the first place?" She asked. "As I explained before, the opportunity was too good. As we saw, those Riptors were as useful as paper towels when it came to stopping the Elite." ARIA didn't really have an answer for that. None of the Riptors had been the same since the one which had helped stop Gargos, but that one had since been killed. Green Heart had proven her worth too in holding off every single Fulgore available to Ultratech too.

"Very well." She conceded. "But you understand why I'm annoyed." The Shadowman nodded. "I understand."

Of course he understood. He wasn't a fool.

The thing was though, he would have easily done it again.

 ** _Author's Note_**

Some of the scenes are based off insane ideas I have that would never work (there's a lot of those), especially the scene with Reimu and Marisa which was much more...lewd, I guess, the first time around. I'm not that interested in flexing the M rating though, so I toned it down.

Hisako finally opens up too. I can't remember why, but I always imagined Hisako being terrified of ghosts for some reason related to childhood trauma.

Aside from that, there's not really much I can comment on.


	39. The Shadowman's Base

As Richtofen, Booker, Elizabeth, Cole, Saya, Irisu, 47, Gordon, Madotsuki and Shu made it to the house, they just knew that Cortana's side weren't far away. Richtofen, in a rare decision, decided at the last moment that the rest of Primis would not join him on this particular adventure, not that any of them objected.

The house was as Richtofen had seen it, with a perimeter of blue energy that made it look like it belonged to a different world, as it may have done. The house itself looked dilapidated, but it didn't look totally crap, just a little on the old side.

"This is his base?" Cole raised an eyebrow. "I figured his standards would be a little higher than this." As they got closer, they could see that the house was quite big. Not massive, but there was more than enough room in there for everyone. "This house holds importance to him." Richtofen explained. "It's like a trophy which he presents to the world." The house he was based in was originally part of Agartha, Monty's perfect world. For the Shadowman to be displaying it like he was, it was comparable to how hunters showed off the animals they killed.

Entering the house, it was bigger again on the inside than it appeared on the outside. It wasn't that amazing though. Richtofen recognized a few of the things in there, like the perk-a-cola machines, the Pack-a-Punch machine, several chalk drawings and the mystery box. A similar collection of crap like what Marisa had at her house. Only difference here was that there was some organisation, things were put in places where there was space for them, rather than being piled up wherever in a jumbled mess.

"There's no one else here." Booker commented, looking around the house. "Though, that might change."

"I wouldn't give us too long before Cortana's Elite show up." Saya added. "I agree." Cole backed her up, a rarity since Saya's little secret got loose. "Scout this place as much as you can before the opportunity slips."

Their suspicions were correct, as approaching from the other side was Cortana's team. Banjo, Kazooie, Shepard, Conker, Sun Kin, Dovahkiin, Isaac, The Jack, Shovel, and The Gunstringer had made it to the house unchallenged, a common theme in their journeys to locations. Past experience also told them to expect a fight here too, and seeing that Vert's Elite were nowhere to be seen outside only meant they either weren't here yet or that they were already inside. Either way, it meant they had to keep up their guard as not to fall into a trap.

Moving around to the front door, Cortana's Elite could see that there was no one anywhere near the building. "Must be in there..." The Gunstringer muttered. "Keep on yer toes!" Dovahkiin then kicked down the door, allowing the Elite in. No one here. They must have been in the rooms.

"What do we do now? Split up or stick together?" Shovel asked. "I suggest we split up, try to cover more rooms." Isaac suggested. "The house is big alright, but it's not that big. If one of us gets into trouble then we can just shout for help." That much seemed to satisfy everyone, as they all went different ways.

The house wasn't a labyrinth or anything, but there were more than a few moments where the different members of the Elite would get lost due to the nonsensical way in which it was laid out, as if it wasn't designed by a human.

Richtofen knew this was the case, but not because the Shadowman had designed it, instead because Monty did. Too bad he didn't seem to care for the place. Currently Richtofen was in the attic space, tall enough to stand up in. It didn't look like there was much here, but at the same time, he could hear fights beginning to start below him. So Cortana's Elite were here after all, lovely.

It begged the question of which members were there though, and how exactly they would fare against Green Heart's team. Was Richtofen better to stay up in the attic to avoid capture? Or maybe he needed to man up, go down there and kick some serious ass.

Shit. Richtofen could hear the attic door opening behind him. He spun around just as Isaac Clarke was able to get up and point his Plasma Cutter in Richtofen's face.

"I don't suggest moving or making any noise right now." The Engineer threatened. "Could end badly for you."

"The threat is mutual." Richtofen responded. Isaac looked down to see Richtofen's Mark II Ray Gun pointed at his balls. Isaac stepped back, but he kept the Plasma Cutter trained on Richtofen at all times. Isaac was impressed by how quickly Richtofen managed to pull out his own gun with no one noticing, and remain so silent.

"Well, why don't we get the formalities out of the way?" Richtofen suggested. "Sounds good." Isaac agreed, as both fighters formed an 'X', which took them both away to settle the score.

The room Shepard had entered was like a child's bedroom, littered with toys that looked like they had been played with recently enough. She picked up a few of them to inspect, finding nothing out of the ordinary about the little figurines, they were just toys.

"I'm not sure what you expected to find here, this place is just another shithole to me." Shepard remarked. It was at that point Gordon knew the person he was dealing with was serious. He hadn't given off any indications that he was going to attack her, but then again, maybe it was just the fact that she hadn't seen Gordon before, therefore assuming he was the enemy. The assumption was correct obviously, but still, Gordon was impressed by her confidence.

He still said nothing though, as per usual. Shepard then held out a strange looking alien blade, extending her arm to Gordon, but not to attack. "Well? You wanted a fight, so time to put your money where your mouth is."

That threat didn't really work because Gordon hadn't said anything, but he was looking to fight. So with that in mind, he formed an 'X' with Shepard, using his crowbar, starting the fight just like that.

Gordon was cautious in his approach, as was Shepard. Both were smart enough to realize that the other was looking for the first move, and that was what prompted Shepard to make the first move.

She fired her Acolyte at Gordon, who had no response in time. He was hit well, and knocked to the ground. Getting up, he noticed that Shepard was nowhere to be seen. Gordon was on edge though, knowing there was no reason for her to suddenly vanish like that.

He needed a weapon that was quick to respond, so he took out a .357 Magnum for use. He was keeping a close eye on the area in front of him, but not behind him, and that proved to be his undoing. Shepard reappeared behind him and stabbed him with her Omniblade through the gut, seriously wounding the scientist. He used his elbow to force her away before turning and firing his Magnum, getting a good hit of his own. Shepard staggered backwards as Gordon continued to fire, going through all six shots before he knew he would have to reload. That had built up his special move meter already, but he knew now that Shepard was going to pounce when he ran out. Right he was, as Shepard ducked underneath the revolver as Gordon threw it, slashing with her Omniblade. Gordon had his trusty crowbar on hand though, quickly countering the Omniblade's first swing, but Shepard's second was more difficult to deal with. He couldn't get his guard up in time to stop himself being stabbed, which letting Shepard take full advantage to reach her Level one, before a few more slashes built the gauge up even more.

He backed up, but as it turned out, Shepard was anticipating just that, taking out her Valiant sniper rifle and shot him again, only doing herself more favours. Gordon was quick to respond though, taking out the gravity gun and using it to steal the Valiant from Shepard's arms, then reversing the gravity field and letting the gun fly towards Shepard and striking her in the head, catching her completely by surprise. Next Gordon took out an MP7 and unloaded as many bullets as he could into Shepard, making her fall backwards. She was quick to reactivate her invisibility cloak though, letting Gordon know what happened the first time she disappeared, though that didn't make things much easier for Gordon. He still had to figure out where she was, and before she could get a hit in too.

He did have a plan though. Since the space was enclosed, there was only a limited amount of space for her to move in. Gordon quickly reloaded the MP7 and started firing one bullet at a time, quickly changing his aim from one side to the other and back again, being sure to move around the room too. He could hear movement after every shot, especially to his right. He then picked his spot and fired, hitting Shepard to knock her out of her cover. Now!

Gordon unleashed another hail of bullets, while Shepard could only get out the occasional shot. It didn't matter that he was getting hit, because he had just reached his third special move.

He activated it, taking out his Pulse Rifle and aiming at Shepard. It got to the stage where even Shepard knew despite her efforts to fight on that nothing she could do was going to be enough to fight off the upcoming blast.

When Gordon fired it, the outcome was assured. Shepard couldn't tank the hit, vollapsing in a heap without even needing a fatality. Gordon still had nothing to say, holding his silence.

As soon as they were returned to the house, Gordon knew he had to do something with Shepard before someone walked in. He knew he was lucky to win, but the only word that mattered there was 'win'. He had just made a huge capture. Getting Shepard out of the way was massive.

Elsewhere, Banjo and Kazooie were the second to fall, with Booker and Elizabeth coming out on top in that bout. "A bear and a bird, huh?" Booker still had a hard time believing some of the shit he was seeing. "Apparently they have a huge fanbase. Bigger than ours." Elizabeth commented.

"I sure hope not."

Death's Hand took care of Agent 47 just like that. Not exactly the hardest fight he'd ever been involved in, but 47 managed to hold his own for a while before losing. He didn't know it was the first victory Cortana's side had in the strange house, but he also didn't want to bite off more than he could chew. Placing faith in his teammates, he ran around to the back of the house with 47, waiting for the rest of the Elite to come back out.

Inside the house though, things weren't going to that plan. Saya had just completely overwhelmed Conker with more force than the squirrel could have ever anticipated. That was obvious from the look on his face, not that anyone cared much. Saya was no longer proud of what she did, instead feeling more anger inside her for having to resort to...that. But still, she had hope that she could be useful, and if that meant beating the crap out of the enemy with her hideous, ugly monster form then so be it.

Upstairs, Richtofen finished off Isaac Clarke with ease. The engineer put up a good fight, but against Richtofen's arsenal it was only a matter of time before his lack of fighting experience became his downfall. Richtofen planned to take Isaac with him, though looking a

Wait...Richtofen looked again. Was that...? It was. The Shadowman. He stood there menacingly at the other end of the attic, not saying a word or doing anything that might have alerted anyone to his presence. He just stood there. Richtofen looked around, making sure no one was sneaking up on him, before he looked back. As it turned out, Richtofen had spent just a second too long looking around, as when he looked back, the Shadowman was gone.

Richtofen couldn't just leave it at that though, he had to try and look for the Shadowman while he was here. At the same time though, did he really want to take that risk when the whole house was filled with people who wanted his hide? Richtofen thought about it for a second, pacing around the room.

Wait a second. Most of the boxes were covered in cobwebs, because they hadn't been touched in years. But there was one box that really stood out. Not only did it not have cobwebs, it stood out for how clean it looked. It was a shiny wooden box, obviously meant to blend in with the other wooden boxes. But if it looked that clean, then it was obvious that the box had only been put there recently.

What was inside it? Only one way to find out. Richtofen couldn't open the lock on the front, and so he resorted to stabbing through the roof until the box was weak enough to break apart.

There were pieces of wood everywhere by the time Richtofen was done smashing up the box, but there were still a few pieces covering whatever was inside. Swiping those pieces away, his heart skipped a beat.

No way.

That...that couldn't be. Richtofen took the device out. The Vrill Device was infused with the Focusing Stone, exactly as it was meant to be. To Richtofen, it was like winning the lottery. He then quickly put it back in the box and then looked around. What if the Shadowman saw him? He looked around again, happy to know that he hadn't been seen.

But wait, there was an idea. He would have to be quick, but he could slip the Vrill Device into an old looking box and make it seem like he was carrying out some random old crap...yes, that was a good idea indeed. Time to put it into action.

On the main level, things kept getting worse for Cortana's side. Kaim just couldn't keep up with Shu, no matter what he did, he and Blue Dragon just seemed that much faster every time. Eventually the swordsman was beaten, with Blue Dragon picking up Kaim and the duo awaiting the call to leave the house.

The whole reason for them being there, the man himself, Cole Phelps wandered into a small room which looked like it was used as a storage, strange considering how there was already an attic, but fair enough, he was content with the knowledge that he was away from the fighting going on across other rooms being enough to keep him content.

That was, until Cole heard someone placing their foot down and taking out two revolvers. "Did ya think you'd get away with hidin' out here the whole time?" The Gunstringer asked. Cole was more relieved than dreading it, knowing that he needed to find someone who could beat him in a one on one fight. It was the Gunstringer, as Cole noticed. It looked like someone who would be on his level when they were both trying.

"Well, you got me." Cole raised his hands in surrender. "What the hell?" The Gunstringer demanded. "Were you born yesterday?! Fight me ya damn fool!" Cole cursed his luck, being drawn against one of the few people who was actually looking for a fight rather than to just capture him.

Still, if he showed reluctance to fight, then the Gunstringer would surely smell something off. He was no fool.

"Fair enough." Cole fixed his hat. "It's your funeral!" As Cole took out his handgun, the Gunstringer formed the first half of the 'X' needed to start a battle. Cole soon completed it, and so both men were taken into the fight.

The Gunstringer immediately started firing, giving Cole no time to react whatsoever. Cole couldn't even guard himself if he wanted, which suited him. Cole pulled out his handgun and began firing, though his shots were all misses, but they came close enough to look convincing. The Gunstringer suspected nothing, except for the fact that Cole was trying to capture him. Right now he was trying to close the gap between him and Cole, rolling under shots and delivering a kick to the gut which forced Cole to his knees. Had he really hit Cole that hard?

Cole tried pulling out his gun again, though he was far too slow for the Gunstringer who had already fired twice. The Gunstringer didn't feel the need to use his fatality, simply shooting Cole once more and watching as he fell to the ground in a heap.

It felt surreal, though to be honest, the Gunstringer wasn't totally surprised. It was typical of know-it-alls like Cole Phelps to be completely inept when it came to defending themselves one on one, and unfortunately that was the case this time too like so many other times. The Gunstringer couldn't see Richtofen looking through a gap in the ceiling though, now with the knowledge that they had achieved what they set out to.

Saya dragged Conker outside with her, before she heard "I HAVE IT, I HAVE IT, LET'S GO!" from Richtofen. They all knew what that meant, and like bats out of hell, Vert's Elite tore away from the mansion, carrying those they defeated with them. Cortana's Elite attempted to give chase, but gave up quickly afterwards as they saw no point to it.

"Damn it!" Dovahkiin punched the side of the house. "They were clinical alright." Death's Hand remarked. "Whatever they came here to do, I cannot say, but they certainly did it with conviction." The Jack rolled his eyes. "I can't believe we spent all that bullshit time dancing around the basement with those imbeciles."

"Just be thankful that you were not caught, as many of us were." Shovel reminded him. "Good point." The Jack conceded. "Still, at least we made two captures." The Gunstringer reminded both of them, trying to lift the mood somewhat. "That's better than nothin', right?"

It was, but one side was clearly happier than the other.

Richtofen clutched the Vrill Device and Focusing Stone fusion, knowing how important it was that he had saved this for himself. It made his job of defeating the Shadowman just marginally easier, no matter what happened next. No one else seemed in the slightest to be happy about it though, probably because they didn't know what it was, and didn't feel like asking. No matter. Richtofen wasn't dying to give a speech about it either. When the time came, he would be more than happy to demonstrate its powers.

"That went pretty well." Booker remarked. "Pity we lost 47, but other than that I can't think of any downsides, with our six captures and all." He looked around, counting Isaac, Shepard, Kaim, Conker and the duo of Banjo and Kazooie.

"Cole was captured too, so it shouldn't be long before we know where Cortana is based." Saya added. Booker nodded. "That's what we set out for in the first place. Just to make sure he got taken. Mission accomplished."

Now, it wasn't a matter of 'if' Cortana's base was found, but now instead a matter of 'when'. Green Heart said she was going to have a 24 hour buffer period to make sure Cortana wasn't giving them a fake location, which gave Cole some time to kill, although it wasn't like he had anything to fill that time with.

Cole eventually woke up in his cell, rubbing the back of his head. Where was he? He looked around for his hat for a few seconds, relieved to find it was on his lap. Once that was done, he looked around again. He couldn't see into the other cells, and there was nothing in his cell but a bed. So how was he going to entertain himself while waiting for Green Heart? Ah well. It didn't matter, as Cole knew his plan had worked.

Cortana's days were now, with utmost certainty, numbered.

 ** _Author's Note_**

Cole's finally in the base, but does anyone see through his plans once he's in there?

I know the fights were short in this chapter, but I was just eager to get this chapter out of the way. There'll be more fighting later on without a doubt, as well as some other stuff I'm excited to get to.


	40. Final Wait

Green Heart's eyes were like those of a lion watching its prey as she stared intently at the screen in front of her. Cole hadn't moved from this location in over an hour, but she made a deal with Phelps that she would not make any moves towards him until a full day had passed. This would ensure that Cortana wasn't misleading the Elite, confirming Cole's location to a tee.

Chika sighed as she slumped back in her chair. "Lady Green Heart, can't we give this a rest for a while?" She whined. "I told you before Chika, you don't have to be here." Green Heart responded. "I'm supposed to be monitoring you though." Chika countered. "You spend almost all your time nowadays trying to fight Cortana."

"Yes, because the threat posed by her was far too big to ignore, Chika." Green Heart answered. "I figured you would understand." Chika was beginning to feel a little attacked. Her Goddess never spoke to her like this. The only time she was ever so serious was when fighting against the other Goddesses, and that was another thing.

She hadn't taken a rest from her HDD form in ages. Not since before the Elite showed up anyway. "Lady Green Heart, what about your shares?" Chika tried to argue. "Not now Chika." Green Heart waved off the concern. "All that matters now is getting that bitch and making sure she's dead."

"A-are you feeling alright?!" Chika was starting to really worry, fearful of an angry outburst. "I'm fine." She said, her hands beginning to twitch. "I'm just...excited. You understand, right?"

To say Chika was intimidated would have been an understatement. She had no idea Cortana was this much of a threat to Leanbox, there would've been no other way that the Goddess of Leanbox would be filled with such emotion.

It felt wrong, but at the same time, Chika wouldn't disobey orders. She simply couldn't.

* * *

Richtofen was on the outskirts of Leanbox, hoping to get something done himself. Tank, Takeo and Nikolai preferred to spend their time relaxing. Not that Richtofen cared, he was alright by himself. Or, he would have been.

It gave him time to reflect. With everything that was happening, it was likely that he wouldn't be fighting much longer. That said, he knew the dangers of getting his hopes up. Originally, the mission to the moon was supposed to be the last time fighting, though as he clearly remembered, things didn't go that way...

* * *

The Lunar Lander had taken its time in getting them here, though none of them seemed to care, as long as they arrived.

Dempsey was given a small reason to smile when he heard they were going to Nevada, finally back in the USA after so long away. It was a repurposed Air Hangar, where they would've kept planes before sending them off before WW2 and the Vietnam War, not that Dempsey would've known about either of those wars.

The re-purposing was done by taking out the floor of the hangar and replacing it with a teleporter. Exactly like the ones at Der Riese facility. The Pack-a-Punch machine was there also, out on what would have probably been a runway though the ground either side of the hangar was elevated by about 3 feet. Between the Pack-a-Punch and the teleporter was a muddy puddle that was at its deepest only up to the ankles of the four. Sirens were going off all around, though they were distant and provided little more than background noise.

The group finally landed, examining the area. It didn't seem to be very lively, with only the occasional shambling zombie rising from the mud puddle. "This is it?" Nikolai asked. "Of course not." Richtofen answered. "I made it very clear where were going. The Moon is just a quick teleporter journey away." As soon as he said that, a loud noise sounded throughout the area, which was like a dog whistle to the zombies. Hellhounds began to appear as well as the undead, who instead of shambling, were now in full on sprint. The message then was clear. Regardless of where that teleporter lead to, it was better on the other side than to be stuck here. Quickly, they all stepped on, and as soon as the teleporter was ready, they were gone.

Finally arriving on the moon, it was refreshing to see that for once, the power was on. "We must be quick." Richtofen warned them, throwing them all a gumball. Gobblegums, as Tank had dubbed them. These ones were orange, and named 'Perkaholic'. It was a miracle gumball that gave the effects of all known perk-a-colas, which meant that all the members of PRIMIS could agree on its usefulness, one of the few things they could agree on at all.

He then gestured to spacesuits nearby, with the instruction being clear. It didn't take long at all for the four to get suited up, and that was when Richtofen began to explain what was going on.

Firstly, he explained the layout of Griffin Station. That was the name of the station, not important. They were currently in a control bay, from which a large excavator was operated. Outside there were two tunnels, one on their left and one on their right, both lead to the same place, the MPD. The pyramid which Richtofen had spoken so much about. The other three had seen it too, but it was in an Austrian castle when they had last seen it. To the right of that were laboratories where Group 935 conducted experiments with the elements they found on the moon. Once at the end of the laboratories, you could go into either a large bio dome which was used to relieve stress and also attempt to foster an ecosystem on the moon, or you could go outside to a teleporter which took you back to the area where they had just escaped from. Richtofen called that place 'Area 51'.

"My plan is to force the Shadowman out of the MPD. It is unlikely at this stage that we can force Maxis' body out, so this will have to do." Richtofen explained. Zombies were starting to groan around them, an indication of the strict time limit they were under. "That's great isn't it?" Tank asked sarcastically. "Let's leave a deranged German scientist in there with the powers of a God. That'll end up going really well I'm sure."

"The plan also involved me entering the MPD to force the Shadowman out. If luck is on my side then I may be able to force Maxis out also, though I will be happy if I can get just the Shadowman." There wasn't a hint of levity in his voice. Richtofen was dead serious. "That, or we could destroy the earth, limiting the Shadowman's power and putting him-" "Very well." Nikolai interrupted. "I still do not trust you, but I do not want this entire trip to be for the purpose of destroying our homes. For one last time, let us work together."

By this point, the first zombies had already entered. "Be prepared." Takeo warned. "If we are as close as Richtofen says we are, then the Shadowman will surely be putting all his efforts towards stopping us."

Richtofen wasn't one to smile often, but he knew how close to his goal he was. "Thank you. Now, we will have to do everything by the book, starting with step 1:.."

 ** _No one can see me and_**

 ** _I've lost all feeling and_**

 ** _I know I won't die alone_**

Takeo wasn't wrong at all when he said that the Shadowman would be throwing everything he had at them. It took no time at all for the undead to find the crew and begin the assault.

The Samurai was the first to do as he was instructed, going outside to a small portion of the moon not covered by Griffin Station. Behind him was a large crater, which would surely spell the end for him if he fell in, so he was trying his best not to do that. Nikolai was holding off the undead as Takeo would memorize a pattern. Four computer screens in front of him would all flash one colour, then he would have to tap the screens which the colours corresponded to. Easy said and easy done.

 ** _I'll stop you from breathing and_**

 ** _all your deceiving and_**

 ** _this house is not my home_**

In the labs, Richtofen grabbed a small device that looked like a Swiss Army knife and approached four buttons on a wall. Richtofen knew what he was doing. The device was made to hack into the system in many ways, opening doors, hacking the pack-a-punch machine, getting refunds from the perk-a-cola machines and many other things. But there were only two things Richtofen needed it for, and the first was using it to hack into the buttons. Once that was done, he ordered Dempsey to watch his back while he went around the lab disabling pretty much every security measure put in place.

"Warning: Excavator Pi will cause decompression of Tunnel 6." A voice warned. It was the security system of the station of course. "Shouldn't we be doing something about that?" Tank asked. "Not right now." Richtofen shook his head. "It is vital to the success of our mission." With that, the two got moving to the bio dome.

 ** _No_**

 ** _More forgiveness_**

Takeo and Nikolai were on their way to meet up with the other two midway, at the MPD. Tank and Dempsey were there first by a bit, so in the meantime, Tank was going for the weapons Richtofen said he would need in the Mystery Box. Whirling through the selection, it quickly settled on weird looking guns that looked like hair dryers, one red and one blue. It didn't look like a set of weapons Dempsey would even consider using, but all that served as was proof that those were the weapons that he was looking for.

 ** _No_**

 ** _and the reason is_**

 ** _I know I wont die alone_**

When Takeo and Nikolai arrived, all four turned to the MPD. The MPD was a closed chrome period with a strange looking dial on the front, a spot in the middle for something in the shape of a sphere. "That's where that little key goes, right?" Dempsey asked, referencing the hole. "Ja." Richtofen nodded his head. "Aber first, we must find another object to place in the dial. To do this, we will have to go to the control bay." With that, the four were off to the control bay, but they made sure to go through tunnel 11.

 ** _I have returned_**

"Warning: Massive decompression in Tunnel 6: P.E.S. required." The excavator had cut through the tunnel, releasing all the air from it. More importantly though, it knocked out a small strange looking ball. Richtofen was quick to use the hacker once in the control bay, putting the excavator back under control. "What is the purpose of letting the digger destroy the station?" Nikolai asked. "I cannot explain. But you will see."

 ** _and everyone dies and_**

 ** _everyone lies_**

 ** _They're waiting for the second coming again_**

The ball lay just below where the excavator had cut. Richtofen knew what he had to do though, not touching the ball but instead using his Bowie Knife to knock the ball along a course which took him all around the station, ending with the ball slotting perfectly into the slot on the front of the dial.

 ** _Everyone tries to hold onto their lives_**

 ** _When no one's alive_**

 ** _Bring me 115_**

Then the tube popped up. A single empty tube, that when zombies were killed by it, began to fill up with a strange blue substance. "We need to fill it!" Richtofen insisted. With that, the four began killing, though it wasn't long before the tube was full. Once that happened, Richtofen pulled a nearby switch, and that opened the MPD.

It was the body of Richtofen's old mentor, Dr. Ludwig Maxis. An old and potentially senile man, though that was unimportant for the time being. The Shadowman occupied the body as it seemingly levitated above the pyramid. It couldn't be touched though, firstly because it was a mere spectacle, intangible to anyone outside, and as well as that, entering the MPD by simply walking into it wasn't possible when someone was already inside. That would be like walking into a bear enclosure. You had to find another way.

 ** _You stand for nothing and_**

 ** _overlooked something_**

 ** _I'll bring you down all on my own_**

Dempsey had been going to the box for a while now, with no sign of the grenades he was looking for anywhere in sight. That was until he tried when the box had relocated itself to the place where they had first been on the moon, striking a gold mine when the weird looking grenades finally popped up. They looked like fuses, and were called 'Quantum Entanglement Devices' or QEDs for short by Richtofen. What a weird fucking name. What the hell did that mean? Dempsey shrugged. No idea.

But after that, they had to return to Area 51.

 ** _I'm the end I can taste it_**

 ** _I'll justify hatred_**

 ** _I am the chosen one_**

 ** _left hand of all that's sacred_**

Up on the platform with the teleporter, while the other three covered for him, Richtofen lobbed grenades at a strange looking machine out of reach to his left. The machine didn't explode though, instead allowing a few white hexagonal plates to fall to the ground. He then took a Gersch Device and threw it, sucking up the plates and dumping them on the teleporter. "There plates are vital for our struggle. Without these it will all be for nothing!" Richtofen explained as the four stood back on the teleporter.

 ** _No_**

They quickly returned back to the Moon, plates beside them. "Now, throw the grenades at them Dempsey!" Dempsey readied a QED and threw it at the plate, with the grenade making many goofy noises before launching the plates across the control bay, over to a small computer in the corner.

 ** _More forgiveness_**

Richtofen raced over to the computer, put the plates in place, and he was about to place the Vrill Device between the plates when he realized.

"The computer! It isn't connected!"

 ** _No_**

Nikolai threw a tube at Richtofen. "Yes! But how-" "Do not mistake me for a simple fool, German." Was all Nikolai said before getting back to attacking the undead.

 ** _I'll bring you death and pestilence_**

 ** _I'll bring you down on my own._**

No time to waste. "Let's see, password: 'EddieIsALiar'. I'm not, but that's why no one would guess it." He muttered to himself.

 ** _I have returned_**

"Are you sure you want to do this, Edward?" It was the Shadowman. "You know Monty is every bit as bad as I am."

 ** _and everything dies_**

"Hey doc! What the hell's the hold up?!" Tank asked, using the Wind Staff to kill around twenty zombies at once.

 ** _look to the skies_**

"I care not about Monty. What I do, I do of my own volition and for no other reason." Richtofen answered. The entire system responsible for running Griffin Station was also connected to the MPD. By hooking up the Vril Device to the computer, Richtofen was able to load programs onto the device. They would help him stop the Shadowman. Though the reasons were not yet clear, it wouldn't be long until they were.

 ** _to see the end of all creation again_**

"Richtofen, today!" Nikolai snapped, quickly losing patience. "It is done!" Richtofen announced. "Only two more steps remain!"

With the programs loaded, Richtofen took the device and the four ran from the room.

 ** _See with your eyes_**

 ** _my army of flies_**

The Shadowman knew how close they were, that was obvious from the amount of zombies he was sending after them. Tank was all too eager to try out his new weapon though, aiming the two guns as they were connected, in 'Wave Gun' form as Richtofen referred to it, and firing. The waves connected with at least 30 zombies at once, inflating them all to the point of bursting. Little microwave noises accompanied each and every one of them as their bodies exploded.

 ** _when no one's alive_**

 ** _bring me 115_**

Racing through the lab tunnels, it was important to remember for the crew that while they needed to keep their path clear of the undead, they also needed to be careful not to damage the labs. One blast too great would open the lab to the vacuum of space, meaning no more oxygen. It wasn't long before they were back at the teleporter leading to Area 51.

 ** _I've lost all form and unity_**

 ** _where has my life gone_**

Richtofen and Dempsey ran down to the Pack-a-Punch machine, both for different reasons, while Nikolai and Takeo held the teleporter. Tank was quick to upgrade the Zap Guns, as they were known in their dual wield form. He was already using them, firing blasts of electricity that killed the undead upon impact with their rotten flesh. Richtofen let him have his fun for the moment, as he had been instructed to find the last piece to the puzzle.

 ** _I'll bring you doom that you can see_**

 ** _and bring you down to see you bleed._**

Richtofen had a struggle to move some barrels out of the way, but behind the pack-a-punch machine, there was the Summoning Key, just where Monty said it would be. It was strange how the most powerful item to ever exist was always turning up in the most mundane places, but Richtofen wasn't complaining. As long as he had it. With that, all four were back on the teleporter and headed back to Griffin Station.

 ** _and everyone dies and_**

 ** _everyone lies_**

 ** _They're waiting for the second coming again_**

As soon as they were back on the moon, it was straight to the MPD. Three more tubes had sprung up at the other corners, all empty like the first. The instructions were clear. Fill all those tubes quickly or they would be smothered by the undead plague.

 ** _Everyone tries to hold onto their lives_**

 ** _When no one's alive_**

 ** _Bring me 115_**

To have to back themselves into the corners was risky, but necessary. They were close enough to feel the breath of the undead hordes as they rose out of the ground from seemingly everywhere. Now was time to bring out their staffs, having used them so sparingly for their entire journey. It was lucky that they were in the vacuum of space, otherwise the noise would have deafened them all.

 ** _and everything dies_**

 ** _look to the skies_**

 ** _to see the end of all creation again_**

Surely they had to be close by now? The Shadowman had nothing more he could give, right? There were more zombies coming after them now than the four had ever seen in their lives, but each one of them fell against the staffs, being frozen by ice, incinerated by fire, fried by lightning or blown away by wind.

 ** _See with your eyes_**

 ** _my army of flies_**

 ** _when no one's alive_**

 ** _bring me 115_**

Pressure was mounting, but the tubes were all full at last. Richtofen quickly threw a Gersch Device, forcing all the zombies away from the MPD. "Don't you dare!" The Shadowman hissed. Richtofen ignored him.

 ** _and nobody cries_**

 ** _when everyone dies_**

 ** _and no one's alive_**

He placed the Summoning Key in the slot. The Key on its own wasn't enough, but it had managed to stop the zombies for the time being. Their eyes were colourless as opposed to the orange-yellow colour, and they had all come to a standstill. It wasn't enough though.

 ** _bring me 115_**

Richtofen placed the Vril Device on top of the Summoning Key, in a manner that made it all fit together perfectly. "Now." Richtofen stood back in front of the MPD, while the other three backed off. "I can enter the MPD and hopefully put an end to this." Richtofen announced.

All of a sudden the MPD began to react violently. The Summoning Key shot out two blasts of glowing energy which shot then from Richtofen to Maxis' body.

Richtofen tried to move his new body, but found he was struggling to do so. "Ngh, Richtofen!" The Shadowman grunted. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm taking this whole place down!" Richtofen answered. "We'll start anew, in a place where no one can reach you or help you once and for all!" The Shadowman felt intimidated already, but he put up a front as Richtofen wrestled him for control over Maxis' body.

"Richtofen, what the hell is that?!" Dempsey demanded. The portal was starting to rip up everything. It then began to tear away at the MPD, sending both Richtofen and the Shadowman out of Maxis' body. "I don't know!" Richtofen shouted back as the roar of what could've been a black hole grew louder. "Look! The Key!" Nikolai yelled, rushing towards the Summoning Key and the Vrill Device as they were sucked in. "NO!" Richtofen yelled, seeing the items he had worked so hard to get disappearing. He quickly jumped into the hole after them, along with Nikolai. "Shit!" Tank swore as he and Takeo jumped in after the other two.

The black hole only grew in size, taking in Griffin Station in its entirety before long, and after that...

Well, the rest was history.

* * *

"Hey." Orchid seemingly had come from nowhere. "Hm? How did you find me?" Richtofen asked. "I saw you walking out here with all that junk and thought I'd follow you. Hope you don't mind." Richtofen was initially shocked, but he didn't mind too much. But what was the 'junk' Orchid referred to?

The record player taken from West Manor was finally being put to use by Richtofen. It made sense that he was the one to do it, considering his past experience with them. The records that he found with the player were mostly ones that he already recognized, the plain black disc which was useless, the ice blue disc, fire red disc, dark purple disc and lightning yellow disc, even if he could use them, they would have been pointless.

However, there were some discs Richtofen hadn't seen before. One of them was entirely white, though many scratches on the disc likely meant it was broken. Richtofen put it back. The next one he took out had a red 'N' going through the middle. What did it mean? Best thing to do was put it on.

Much like the other discs Richtofen had observed, it opened a portal. Unlike the other portals though, this one was assembled almost immediately. "That normal?" Orchid asked. "Somewhat. Usually it takes a short time for the portal to assemble." Richtofen explained. "I'm going to see what's on the other side." Orchid seemed surprised. "I don't know man. I wouldn't be so confident you'll come back if you go through." There was silence. "You don't give a shit what I have to say, do you?" She asked. "I wouldn't put it so bluntly." Richtofen said. "But I am curious. I may never get this chance again." Orchid didn't bother arguing with him. "Give me 30 minutes. If I am not back by then you can write me off as dead." Orchid was surprised by his bluntness, but she was content to stay. Without another word, he stepped through the portal.

Richtofen soon opened his eyes, making sure that there was a portal behind him so that he wasn't trapped in this new world. There was, a huge relief to him. Looking around, he was speechless. The world appeared lifeless. Was this even real? Richtofen couldn't tell. The sky was gray. The trees were gray. Everything was a different shade of gray, and it was dark too. Richtofen felt no winds either. What had happened here? The German decided to have a look around, checking for any sign of life in this barren wasteland. He couldn't hear much, aside from the faint sound of his own feet as he walked through the woods.

He looked around again, footprints in some places, but aside from that there were no signs of life anywhere. There was a skeleton there, something which made Richtofen jump at first, but he soon realized that the skeleton was frozen too. A small and strangely chubby looking one, certainly not like anything Richtofen had ever seen. It was even wearing clothes. Still, it was clear that it wasn't going anywhere, and it was giving him the creeps. He decided to explore a little more. The area was a forest filled with many coniferous trees, all gray like everything else. Some paths through the trees provided Richtofen with an easy exploration route.

The environment was unsettling. Usually paranoid anyway, Richtofen was feeling so uneasy by this point that he was ready to shoot the next thing that moved without hesitation. He had taken with him his MP40, his staff, his knife and a single Gersch Device.

Soon, he arrived at a grotto. Someone had been here recently, evident from the footprints all over the place.

So the person had come from the portal to around here? That didn't make sense.

It was at that moment when someone grabbed his ankle. Richtofen let out a shout and kicked out, then he turned around and almost pulled the trigger. He was extremely lucky not to have, otherwise he would have surely killed a living person. A naked woman with short brown hair that was plastered to her face. Her skin was covered in drying blood, but she looked awful. Richtofen felt bad for having kicked her in the head. Things could have been worse though. Had he remembered to take a gobblegum before coming here either, then the woman would have been killed. She didn't seem that old, quite young actually. He was constantly looking away, paranoid that someone would come along and get the wrong idea, but he couldn't just leave her there on her own. Not after kicking her in the head.

Overcoming his awkwardness, he tried picking her up and seeing if she was still alive. She was, thank God, but in poor condition. She felt very light in his arms, worryingly so.

She opened her mouth to speak, though the words took a while to come out. "...run..." She said. "...he's coming back for me..."

"Who?" Richtofen asked. Then there was rustling in the nearby bushes. Clearly there was direct threat. Richtofen gently let her down and picked up hid MP40. "Who's there?!" He demanded. "Come out, show yourself!" No response.

More chuckling, as the unknown threat tried the sneaky tactic of coming at Richtofen from behind. The German could see it though, turning around and firing the MP40 into the space where the creep was supposed to be.

Nothing. Richtofen had struck thin air. "What?" He switched to his staff. Even if bullets enhanced by 115 wouldn't do the job, the Lightning Staff surely would. He aimed for the bushes again and held his fire, knowing that once he fired, the whole place was going up in flames.

The mysterious voice was having a good time taunting Richtofen. "Are you scared, Eddie?" It asked. How did it know his name? Not important. He needed all his wits about him. From now on, any sign of anyone hiding in the bushes, good or bad, was getting zapped.

Richtofen was lucky, but his eyes were fast enough to catch a sky blue dot in one of the bushes. Richtofen focused his attention on it, but soon he looked again and realized there was more than just one dot. One became ten in a second, ten became a hundred.

"Tell you what Eddie. Seems like you're outnumbered. You let me have the girl and I'll spare you." Richtofen said nothing, firing the Lightning Staff. It hit one of the dots, which turned out to be an illusion. It would have alarmed Richtofen, but the electricity was quick to spread, and before long the real dot was convulsing from the shock. Fire was next, as the grotto began to go up in flames. Richtofen immediately grabbed the girl and ran, knowing he had bought some valuable time in which to get away from the threat. He ran, looking for the exit of the forest, finding it without much hassle. But now what?

"Leave me here..." She instructed. "What?!" Richtofen thought he imagined that. "Look. That thing there is gonna protect me." The scientist looked at her 'protection'. It looked weird, but experience had taught him that meant it was effective.

"Lead him off into the woods...make him...make him think I'm still in there..." She suggested. He was hesitant, but he wanted to get out before whatever had found him in the grotto came back for round 2. Richtofen nodded. "Please, forgive me for leaving you."

He still needed to get back home. Without him, the Shadowman could cause serious damage to the Elite. As he ran back to the portal, the fire was still spreading, albeit at a slow pace. Not wanting to wait around in case the the blue dot showed up again, Richtofen stepped through the portal.

It was only then when Richtofen realized that he forgot to ask her name. His own fault, but he wasn't kicking himself over it too much. She didn't really look all that important or powerful, so as long as she was alive then Richtofen didn't need to know too much about her.

"Well?" Richtofen had forgotten Orchid was waiting. "Let's not go back there." Richtofen suggested, taking the record off the player, shutting the portal. "Jesus. What was on the other side?" Orchid asked, wondering what had disgusted him so much. "A world devoid of life." Richtofen said. "I was threatened by something. I could not see it, but I knew if I stayed around to fight it then I might not have survived."

"You're not going back then I take it?" Richtofen shook his head. "We must keep these discs safe though." Orchid raised her hands. "You're keeping them safe." Richtofen ignored her. Like he would trust anyone else with the discs. "Hopefully I can bring these to Green Heart's attention once we defeat Cortana." He suggested. "Can't argue with that plan, but what about the other discs?" Richtofen shook his head. "Later. Now I need to record everything I have seen, and check for any references."

Orchid would have suggested contacting Green Heart, but she had heard that the CPU of Leanbox was in a funk or something, and best not approached. As Richtofen made his way back with his record player and records while composing himself, Orchid went her own way. TJ said he wanted to test her before they all went off fighting Cortana.

* * *

Cole hadn't come back yet, and no one else gave Monika much conversation. This left the literature club president with some time to think about things, and refresh her mind. She needed to reaffirm everything she knew that was going to happen. Was Monika ever supposed to know this?

Oh yeah.

Thing was, the moment Cole walked through the doors of the library in Gensokyo all that time ago, the truth was that she already knew exactly what he was going to ask for. Everything else was the same, every capture, every victory, every loss, basically every major event that was going to happen, Monika already knew about. She remembered a few minor events too, just in case she needed to reaffirm her predictions.

Unfortunately for her, she was all alone in her world of knowing what would happen. In addition to that, she couldn't do anything to change what was going to happen. So what was the point? The fact that Cole had been sent off to give away Cortana's location meant he wasn't around to put the pieces together and realize something that was so obvious to her.

"Hi." The voice snapped Monika out of her thoughts. It was a tall man, who Monika had never seen before. She couldn't recognize anything about this man as being something she knew. Monika was worried for once. She hadn't foreseen this man at all. "Hi." She responded. The man was white, with short black hair that was up at the front. He looked like he had just crawled out of hell, wearing torn jeans and an equally torn white shirt, blood stains all over his body. The only other part of his body covered was his eyes, and that was because he wore shades which were immaculate. Must have been newly bought. None of this seemed to faze him though.

Was she going completely mad? Maybe that was it. An uncovered glitch in the system. "I'm looking for a Cole Phelps. I'm wondering if you might be able to help me find him."

"Cole isn't around right now..." Monika informed him, being cautious as she didn't know his true nature. The man seemed disappointed, but he also seemed to believe her. "I see. Well, when can I expect him to be back?"

"Well, see, there's a war going on and I'm not sure you'd-"

"The war between Cortana and Green Heart?" The man asked. So he knew. "Of course I know about that. Is he dead?" Monika shook her head. "Ah. He's been captured then, has he?" The man asked. Monika nodded. "Yeah, he's been captured. What do you want with him anyway?"

"I have information he needs to know. I need someone I can trust with it, and Cole Phelps was the first name I could think of. Someone who won't betray me." He explained. "And what's your relation to Cole?" Monika asked. "Nothing really." The man answered truthfully. "I just found out about him recently, and he seemed like he could help me out." So cryptic. What the hell was this guy up to? "I'm sorry man, but who are you?" The man then remembered. "Of course." He Laughed. "I haven't introduced myself at all." He then took out a piece of paper and handed it to Monika. It was a phone number, with a name above it. Monika payed no attention to the number though, instead focusing on the name.

Shame Saj

What a bizarre name. Just who was this 'Shame Saj' anyway? Before Monika could ask any questions, he was gone. Like he vanished from the face of the earth, as quickly as he had appeared. Monika pocketed the piece of paper, making a note in her head to give it to Cole. She thought she knew everything though, bar nothing. Then this guy came along, and all of a sudden everything she thought she knew was being challenged.

Was it panic time? No, Monika wasn't there yet. She could still test her knowledge of what would happen next. Like for instance, in ten seconds, a kid would run by and trip over his own feet, prompting him to cry and get a bloody nose. Ten seconds later, exactly that happened. The kid's parents were on hand to take care of him, but the fact that things were still happening according to plan was a huge relief.

Well, for today anyway.

 ** _Author's Note_**

So Monika is self-aware, who would've figured. It was the first thing I thought of including with her character. So why doesn't she tell the others what's going to happen before it does? There'll be more answers in a later chapter relating to that. Who is Shame Saj? I'll tell you one thing, he's not Shame Saj. Where was Richtofen? I don't know, but hey, hopefully we find out.

Who is the girl Richtofen found in that forest? Why is it all gray? What tried to assault Richtofen? Geez, you have a lot of questions don't you? Can't say I blame you though. If you plan on waiting though, just a heads up that it's gonna be a while before you get any answers. And yes, I believe he would leave her there, he's not a nice person, but a smart one.

In other news, Black Ops 4 has chosen to stick with PRIMIS as their main characters for zombies, which does irk me a little as there's been more lore added that I haven't addressed, but I'm not going to be making any last minute changes to accommodate that. I just realized in the last chapter that I forgot to mention there are toilets in each of the cells. I know it's a very minor thing but I feel like I should be mentioning it in case anyone's worried about the smell or something.

So next chapter will be shorter than this, and then the chapter after that will be the last fight between Cortana and Vert. Stay tuned.


	41. The Last Stand of Cortana

"Do you plan on watching today? The fight will be over by the time you arrive." The Shadowman warned them. King Dice, Gengetsu, Dr. West and ARIA had all soon come to the screen in front of them, showing video feed from Ultratech drones. They were invisible, making a small amount of noise but not too noticable, especially given that soon there would be a cacophony loud enough to drown out a million drones.

Vert's Elite were on their way towards Cortana's base in strong numbers, with far more than just the Elite being part of the army. Any former Killer Instinct combatants found by her side had also joined, as well as the gap youkai, Yukari Yakumo. They had taken a large cargo plane to within the range of the base, not too close that they might trigger any security systems which would spell the end for them.

The base was built into a mountain in a mountain range so generic that it was probably made with Unity. Granted, not in a million years would any of them have ever guessed to look here for a base. Walking up the mountain, Vert all of a sudden jumped the gun and began using her Drill Lance to obliterate the security systems in place to stop them. Like a knife through butter, the lance left nothing untouched. The CPU showed no emotion on her face, opting for a cold stare which could have reduced the toughest men to their knees, walking up to the main doors of the base. With all the Elite and help behind, one thing was clear. They held a clear majority of the combatants for the fight.

Inside, Chief and Cortana hadn't stopped arguing after what happened at the Shadowman's base. "I mean, you could have sent me!" Chief argued. "And let you get captured too?!" Cortana shouted back. "You don't know that!" He countered. "At least let me have the chance!" He stopped shouting, knowing how pointless it was. "Just..." He wasn't sure what to say. The rest of the Elite had been watching him and Cortana for a while now without saying anything, and he couldn't really see anything there to do as far as that was concerned. They were entitled to see it, but they didn't need to. Cortana looked upset, though she wouldn't change her mind on her own decision to refuse to send Chief on that trip to the Shadowman's base.

"Chief. As one of the few who came back, there was little that one more man could have done for us. I understand your anger, but we mustn't fight amongst one another." Death's Hand weighed in. Shovel Knight backed him up. "There was little that could have been done. One on one, they had the better of us."

"I still think..." Chief was having a hard time arguing that. What was he going to say? That he was better than the whole team? Not a wise move. "I just feel like I could've helped out a lot." Was his arguement. "Maybe you would have. But there's also the chance you would have been caught, and then what?" Marcus suggested. "Cortana might be the leader when it comes to planning and running the Elite, but out in the field, that all falls on you." He spoke.

Chief knew he was beaten, so he didn't even to argue any further pointlessly. "Alright, I see where you guys are coming from." He raised his hands. "Sorry for angry outburst guys. That wasn-"

"Attention."

Hm? Was that someone? Wasn't very loud. Loud enough to hear, but not to understand.

"I said, attention!" The voice came back louder this time, probably through a megaphone or something similar. Either way, Cortana's Elite could all hear it clearly. "Who's there?!" Cortana demanded. "You know who this is Cortana." The voice laughed.

"It's me, Green Heart!"

Silence. Total and absolute silence. "Wh-wha...what?!" You could pinpoint the exact moment when Cortana's heart sank in her chest, hearing those words. It was like her entire world was coming down around her.

"Yeah, that's right. It's me." Vert announced. "Your base was well hidden, but alas, it has been found anyway. So here's the deal. If you and your Elite walk out now and surrender, then I'll be lenient with repercussions. Stay in there and I'm taking it as a threat, after which I will have no mercy for you. You decide."

Cortana was frozen. The rest of Cortana's Elite were in shock as well. How could they have been found? Surely Cortana had done everything to ensure that they would never be found? Surely this was a bluff? But no, they said they were right outside, and that wasn't a threat they would have made unless they actually were.

"What do we do now?" Rick asked. There was silence. Cortana's team was clearly outnumbered as they could see from cameras outside, with the security system having been pretty much destroyed on the outside it was only a matter of time before her team forced their way inside.

Cortana couldn't answer. For once, she didn't know what to do.

Silence reigned over the group. They were seemingly without a leader, without direction and increasingly, without hope.

"I'll tell you what we're gonna do." Chief finally spoke up. "We're not gonna give in just because she says so." The other Elite were quick to follow suit.

"I agree." Marius stood forward. "My men and I will fight 'till our last breath!" Marcus stood forward too. "Hey, don't leave me out!" Cuphead laughed as he stood forward. Before long, the entire Elite was in agreement. Ready to fight until they could fight no more.

"This is all great." Chief surveyed the Elite, unbeknownst to the rest of the, hr had a smile on his face. "But it'll only work if we have someone to lead our defence." He turned to Cortana. "I think that should be you."

"Chief..." Cortana was surprised, but also moved by the gesture. She didn't have any battle armour to put on or anything, so the most she could do was keep in her physical form for the fight.

"Alright. We haven't got long, so here's what we're going to do..." Cortana soon had them all in a huddle while she explained the plan to them. Once that talk ended, it was time for action.

The last stand of the Microsoft Elite was underway. Master Chief, Marcus Fenix, Marius Titus, the Jack of Blades, Kasumi, Ryu, The Gunstringer, Cuphead, Death's Hand, Dovahkiin, Shovel Knight and Rick Taylor along a few soldiers were all Cortana had left. They knew they had very little time until Vert's team broke through.

It was almost immediate. Green Heart's drill destroyed the doors holding out the invaders, and soon they began to split up. Some might have considered it lucky that they did, but their numbers were so much greater that the difference made was minimal.

A group of about nine or so came the way of Cortana's Elite. "Now, split up!" Cortana ordered. Balrog was confused as Rick raced by him, punching him in the face. "Hey!" The boxer snapped. "Bastard!" Balrog punched him back, catching him clean across the head and allowing TJ Combo to catch up and join in beating up Rick. Soon both were able to trap him in a Elite battle as Green Heart had told them, a useful but underappreciated tactic. It worked agains them too though, as Jago found himself being double-teamed by Kasumi and Ryu and then taken into a battle.

Kasumi rarely ever used her sword, but now was an exception. Jago was quick enough to counter one of them with luck, but two of them? No chance. She pulled it out with no hesitation, just to make her game like hell.

The Gunstringer was eager to get into the the thick of things, firing his guns into the air and then charging towards Irisu, her eyes glowing red as the Gunstringer initiated the fight. He still kept firing which was enough to stun the asthmatic weirdo, who began firing small white blocks in retalliation. He ducked over the blocks used by Irisu which gave him an edge overall.

 _Keep going_

Meanwhile, Rick was beginning to hold his own in a boxing match, against Balrog. TJ's punches would only stand a chance of hurting if they were at full power. While Balrog hit much harder with his average punch, he wasn't as intelligent or quick as TJ, being much slower to deduce strategies and counter them, if he even tried that. Most of what he did was punching. One thing he was good at though, was taking damage. Rick had seen his fair share of opponents who were all about dishing out damage, the same ones being quick to fall with one or two punches. Balrog wasn't like that.

He was going for another low swing when all of a sudden, Rick was swept off his feet. TJ had been given far too much time without Rick keeping an eye on him and he made the college student pay for it. Balrog seized the opportunity and delivered some savage blows to his target, sending him flying across the arena like a rag doll, landing on the other side.

"Looks like those two fuckers wanna play, Ricko." Terror Mask growled. Rick almost immediately jumped back into action, fists flying. TJ wasn't quick enough to get out of the way, being sent flying into the nearest wall while Balrog didn't even try to avoid. That cost him dearly as the blow seriously hurt him, knocking him onto one knee and setting him up for a crushing punch to the head. Balrog was down, and Rick was ready to capitalize. He lunged into the air, pouncing on Balrog and launching several punches for the boxer's head. Balrog was prepared though, catching Rick completely off guard with a headbutt straight into the bridge of his nose. Rick didn't get up, but he allowed enough space for Balrog to escape from his grasp and stand up.

"Annoying bastard!" Balrog hissed. "You don't think I can play dirty too?!" Rick ignored the threat, instead trying to focus on Balrog so the boxer would stop getting up every time Rick knocked him down. Then he was hit.

TJ crashed into his side with his own 'Powerline' move, knocking the huge beast on his side. He quickly picked himself up though, and judging by how quickly he was throwing punches, he wasn't going to down without one hell of a bloody struggle.

 _They'll fall eventually_

Shovel Knight had finally beaten the Terrarian, though it wasn't long before Shu and Blue Dragon both were on hand to make sure he had something to do.

"Hmph!" Shovel examined his opponent. "I have defeated many dragons on my adventures already. You should be no different!" Shu smiled as this he said this. He wasn't sweating or anything, or showing any signs of unease. Rather, he seemed to relish in the opportunity to fight.

No matter, Shovel Knight would still show this upstart boy his place.

 _They can only hold out for so long_

The Jack of Blades swung his blade at Richtofen, growing increasingly frustrated with the German. Richtofen's staff could block anything that was thrown at him, even if he was just a man. The Jack refused to accept this though, just growing increasingly furious with every failed attempt to hit Richtofen.

Richtofen was unable to use it though, as the rules of Elite fights prevented him from doing so. Not that it mattered too much, as he was well in over his head. All that Richtofen wanted to do was waste as much time as possible.

While Richtofen continued fighting against The Jack of Blades, the other three members of PRIMIS had found the prison cells. "How are we gonna get these open?" Tank answered that question, using the Hell's Retriever to bust open each cell, releasing all the prisoners one by one. Some of them had been in there so long that the three forgot they were even part of the Elite. "Bout time!" Stranger grumbled. "Hey, what's going on?" Reimu asked as Tank broke open her cell. "Everyone else is here, just look for someone to fight."

Cole Phelps was the next to be released, a little smug knowing his plan had worked, but he still had questions. Anyway, before he could answer any questions he needed to play his part in helping defeat Cortana.

 _Their numbers are shrinking rapidly. Don't let up!_

Cuphead and Mugman were up next to fight. Already having fought a good fight up 'till this point, the brothers were doing a good job in holding off the invading force, even earning a few wins.

"Wow. Never seen a human popsicle before." Cuphead remarked. Glacius shouted in his own alien language, unhappy with the nickname. "Yikes." Cuphead felt a chill run up his spine. "Maybe don't insult him?" Mugman suggested. "Little too late for that, bro." Cuphead replied, rolling up sleeves he didn't have. "Anyway, let's shatter this alien!" With that, the brothers initiated the fight against Glacius the ice alien.

 _They never expected this...Punish them!!!!_

Dovahkiin and Madotsuki were also battling, the former seriously underestimsting the latter. The fact that she was able to rely on the dream world much more consistently meant that the Dragonborn had to be on her toes at all times lest she risk defeat. You never knew when a surreal creature would pop up, or something would come out of nowhere to protect the dream girl. One of the most dangerous opponents she had ever fought, and one she wasn't sure if she would defeat.

 _Do NOT falter now!_

Ryu and Jago clashed swords again, with Ryu clearly being the faster of the two. Throw in Kasumi to the mix and Jago was completely outnumbered. Gargos wouldn't be much use inside a battle like this, and while he put up a very good fight, he was ultimately outmatched. It was all too exhausting, with one final clash of swords seeing Ryu break through Jago's defences and get in the finishing blow.

 _If you fuck it up now then it's gone forever!_

"Hey!" Reimu shouted. "I remember you!" Death's Hand knew what was coming, so he decided to jump the gun and get in an attack on Reimu and Marisa. However, the element of surprise wasn't as useful as thought it would be, as both Reimu and Marisa entered the fight against Death's Hand to get revenge for their defeats.

 _YES!!!!_

The writer and the detective both opened fire on Marcus Fenix, trying to overwhelm him and take him into a fight he couldn't win. Perhaps a mistake, as Marcus' weapons were far beyond anything Cole and Alan were used to. With confidence, Marcus charged into battle against the duo.

 _I can feel it...so close..._

Cuphead and Mugman were fighting off the ice alien, keeping wary as Glacius was now a puddle of water who could have struck from anywhere at any time, and both of them knew that. "Keep your eyes peeled."Mugman warned. Cuphead was taking no chances. He looked like he was ready to kill the next thing that looked at him funny, and he probably would have.

It wasn't long after that Glacius sprung from the ground and launched an uppercut that connected strongly with Mugman's jaw. Launching him into the air, Cuphead took the chance and fired some bullets at him. Glacius was quick though, liquifying himself and throwing his mass at Cuphead. The red and blue ceramic brothers were both drenched in cold water.

"Where did he go?" Mugman asked, beginning to shiver. "I d-d-don't s-s-see them." Cuphead was feeling the cold too. "GAH!" Mugman felt his legs begin to freeze up literally, as did Cuphead. Soon, the brothers were entirely frozen, and then, shattered. Glacius was lucky to have won that fight, with taking on the brothers being a bigger challenge than he anticipated. Nonetheless, it was done now.

 _Ahhhhhh, almost there..._

Hisako and Marius dueled in their own fight, with both parties finding the other one to have improved. Hisako's quick jabs might have been a neat new technique, but Marius' raw determination and awareness made him a very tough foe to take down. The battle raged on, Hisako's Nanigata occasinally overreaching, but doing an effective job of limiting Marius' close range chances to a minimum. Less chances, less hits. That much made sense to Hisako anyway, her strategy was working.

 _HeheheheHEHEHEHEHE!!!!_

Rick Taylor was strong, no doubt. Balrog and TJ looked exhausted, but so did Rick, and it was still 2 against 1. Balrog launched a dash punch which caught Rick completely off guard. TJ was next with his own dashing punch. The punches didn't hurt before, but now they did. Rick was very sluggish by comparison, and so TJ was usually able to get in a good dozen hits before the college student could even attempt to retalliate. Theses were often far too late, telegraphed and nowhere near strong enough to dea serious damage to either boxer.

TJ launched his own uppercut, making Rick stagger backwards, triggering lights in Balrog's head. He charged and launched his Crazy Buffalo move, overwhelming Rick with force. That was all it took, as without any more struggle, Rick was down.

 _You've done better than I expected_

As Alan Wake and Cole Phelps returned to the battlefield, Marcus Fenix collapsed beside them, with the large golem Aganos moving in to pick him up and carry him away. "Things are going better than I expected." Alan muttered. "I'm pretty surprised too." Cole agreed, seeing Hisako and Marius returning to the battlefield, Hisako having won. "Yeah!" Alan cheered. "Nice going!" Hisako, typical for her character, wasn't interested in compliments, simply looking for more fights to get involved in.

 _Almost..._

Sun Kin was trying not to have an outburst due to the attacks directed against him, however much the aggression might have helped him. It was hurting enough to make him want to give in, with no end in sight to the pain.

Death's Hand might have been strong, but putting up with constant barrages of danmaku from two directions at once was definitely his limit. Reimu and Marisa in their combined efforts had taken down a huge combatant in terms of impact. With no energy left for him to continue, the assassin collapsed.

Soon after, numbers began to take their toll. The Jack just collapsed during his fight with Nemesis. He took down 7 of Vert's Elite, including the brutish experiment, before going out himself, but he was out, and that meant something pretty important:

Chief and Cortana were the only two left now.

Having just defeated Gordon, the Spartan was looking for an escape route from the facility before he was caught. Cortana was doing so too, with Chief putting trust in her quite a lot. Cortana knew where to get out from, the problem was getting out in time. "Chief..." Cortana turned to her only ally. "No matter what happens next...it was an honour to serve with you one last time." Chief was concerned. What did that mean? "Cortana? What are you saying?!" She sighed heavily, but she kept her pride as she explained. Of course, she couldn't tell him everything. If he knew what would become of her if Vert caught her, then he would gladly die fighting. But other than that, she was being 100% honest with him.

"I always forget to say it, but I wouldn't serve with any other Spartan but you. Working with you, it's been an honour."

"Cortana! Don't talk like that!" Chief was beginning to raise his voice as he looked for another way out. "We'll get through this!"

"There he is!" Orchid called out, pointing to Chief. Shit! Chief bust through the door, racing away from all the commotion as quickly as he could. He had never seen this part of the base before, granted, he never needed to before now. He couldn't hear anyone behind him, telling Chief that he was pretty far ahead. Finally, Chief arrived at a door with a valve. A heavy door which no doubt had mountain on the other side, Chief thought.

It didn't. Chief was staring down a long and dark hallway which seemingly stretched on and on. He had no choice but to go on though, being sure to shut the door behind him. It was then that Chief noticed that lights were coming on as he ran through them. Where was he going? He didn't care. As long as he was getting away. Wait. Where was Cortana? No time to worry about that, as Chief knew he was being chased as he spoke. He could worry about finding her later.

Finally, another door. This one was also opened with a valve, and like Chief had expected, there was mountain rock on the other side.

But much to his horror, that wasn't the only thing on the other side.

Hundreds of Leanbox soldiers, all with guns pointed at him. Green Heart stood in front of him, holding Cortana in a chokehold with an ugly looking dagger in the other hand. Cortana was in no way physically strong enough to hold off Vert, and so she struggled fruitlessly, trying desperately to break free from the CPU's grasp.

"Put down your weapon, Chief!" Green Heart ordered. "We've got over 40 members ready to use any force necessary to neutralize you!"

Chief turned around, seeing the Elite and Killer Instinct combatants had finally caught up. It was true. He was completely surrounded, all bases covered.

"Chief!" Cortana cried, with a pleading look in her eyes. "Just do as she says!" Chief looked ahead of him. He was completely surrounded, and his only ally left was on the verge of having her throat slit. He got the message. If he attacked, there was no question about it that he would die. But Cortana's life was on the line too. Without him, she was as good as dead. The throat sliting probably wouldn't have killed her, but it would have hurt like hell, and Chief was more than sure that Vert would have a way to kill her off for good with no chance of error.

But…it couldn't end like this. It couldn't. There had to be one last trick to pull out of the bag. Something up Cortana's sleeve she had not yet revealed. There wasn't.

As the dull clack of Chief's pistol resonated throughout the area as it hit the floor, all it did was confirm to the other side that they had won. Some sighed in relief, thankful it was all over. Green Heart smiled smugly as her greatest rival fell, but that was about it. They knew about the other villains still out there, that even being left for dead wasn't good enough until they finished the job.

What was going to happen next was no mystery. Cortana was going to be executed, no doubt. She was the enemy, the greatest threat to the Microsoft Universe, and keeping her alive had no benefit. The Elite which had served under her would be freed from her illusion, rehabilitated so their loyalty to her was eliminated. If not, then they would be executed too.

While they had not yet rescued their world, the most back-breaking and demanding of all their conflicts had come to an end.

And the winner was Vert.

 ** _Author's Note_**

I said this chapter would be shorter...lied. Cortana is finally captured. Were the cells really just bars? Yeah, but very strong bars, not just iron or some shit. I imagine Cortana knows the individual strengths and weaknesses enough to adjust each cell accordingly so they're all a little unique as well. I know I didn't show every fight ending, but I felt it was getting a bit repetitive and you guys already got the idea, so if that rubs you the wrong way then I understand, I just felt I'd done enough.

Similar reasons for me putting a "--" in between the segways instead of a straight line, just because I felt like it'd be unappealing to read, so idk, small decision but if you're wondering, there you go.

It's not over yet though. There's still stuff to be done before we can close out this fanfic, though I would hope to have this done by Chapter 46 at most.

 **EDIT:** So the lines fucked up, little quotes in italics now act as segways. Their semi plot related, but mostly me just typing shit. Sorry for any inconvenience.


	42. Return to the Scarlet Devil Mansion

Most of the Elite had forgotten about the existence of the Lord of Games and The Devil but then again, since Vert brutally executed them both, it wasn't as though they would need to be remembered.

Watching from the neutral perspective, the Shadowman seemed apathetic, as did ARIA. King Dice seemed happy that his old boss was gone, while Gengetsu didn't really offer an opinion. Dr. West was the only one who seemed even a little disturbed by the events which had unfolded in front of him. "Well...shouldn't we be worried?" West asked. The Shadowman shook his head. "The Lord of Games was an egotistical mess. He was better off dead." He answered. "The Devil was a shame. I liked him, but he would never work for us given what I did. There's also that he would have had no problem spilling the beans on many of our most important secrets." ARIA continued.

The drones couldn't pick them up for where they were going next, though it didn't matter. The main event didn't disappoint, and that was all that mattered. Besides, some of them had things to be doing.

Where Vert's crew was headed next was the Scarlet Devil Mansion, somewhere Reimu and Marisa were surprisingly happy to be going, probably down to the fact that it was something they knew. Granted, going up against Flandre was probably not the best reason to visit the mansion, given how insanely powerful she was. To make matters worse, Flandre had taken a liking to the Summoning Key, occasionally being able to control it as opposed to using its power wildly.

Sakuya Izayoi was the first to greet the Elite at the door to the mansion. She looked in great condition, a full recovery from the beatdown she received from the younger Scarlet sister. "Lady Remilia will see you straight away." Sakuya informed them, leading them to the head of the Remilia was beginning to open the curtains to many of the windows, with dusk approaching quickly.

Green Heart lead the team into the room, where most of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's residents seemed to be. "Thank you for coming." Remilia greeted the Elite. It felt weird for all of them, being in a place so alien to outsiders. Marisa especially, felt incredibly awkward having just been able to walk in the front door and not have anyone try to chase her out.

"How has she been?" Remilia shook her head. "I haven't gone down there. I fear for my own safety and the safety of the staff going down there. Flan's been getting better at using that thing, whatever it is. We hear her playing, but..." All of a sudden, a large portion of the Elite were becoming very hesitant about going down there, not like they could be blamed. The threat they faced was now revealed to be something that could kill them in an instant if it wanted.

Even Vert seemed a little uncertain of herself. Many of the Elite wanted to make a snide comment about being errand boys, but none of them broke the silence. "I understand. We'll head for the basement, but bear in mind, not every member here is equipped to go up against that." Green Heart replied.

None of the Elite objected, at least not yet. The walk to the door was a long one, only being about five minutes long but feeling like five hours.

The basement awaited. A small wooden door, quiet and secluded, no indication of any threat or danger behind it.

"Alright." Vert announced. "Who's going in?" Silence. Soon though, they had their first volunteer. "I will." Richtofen stepped forward. He was then joined by the other three members of PRIMIS. "We know what to expect with the Summoning Key, despite not knowing the true nature of our enemy." Richtofen explained.

That line prompted the next member to come forward. "If all you guys need is help fighting Flandre and you can take care of the Summoning Key, then I'll be able to help." The Shrine Maiden offered. "I'll go too!" Marisa quickly volunteered herself.

Who else though?

"I'm going in." Orchid stepped forward. "In that case I'm going too." TJ followed her.

"Then I will join." Jago added.

Vert seemed satisfied, but she still felt like there was some more members to join.

"Grawr..." Nemesis growled, marching forward. "Yeah, I'll keep you company." Saya sighed as Nemesis grabbed her arm. "Madotsuki and I will go in too." Cole announced.

"Alright. Is that everyone?" Vert asked. No response. "Right." Vert nodded. "The rest of you wait here at the mansion. I have to ensure the prisoners are secure back at Leanbox. I wish you luck." The CPU of Leanbox took off almost immediately. The Killer Instinct combatants had already gone back with the prisoners to ensure there was no funy business in getting them to Leanbox.

With that, the rest of the members dispersed, leaving PRIMIS, Reimu, Marisa, Nemesis, Saya, Cole, Madotsuki, TJ, Orchid and Jago.

"We going in now?" Tank asked. They all nodded. "Don't see why not." TJ shrugged. "Let's go then." Reimu was the one who opened the door.

Opening the door and going inside, it was a complete surprise to find what was in the basement.

There were no walls, as most of the basement seemed to be surrounded by the far reaches of outer space. Shades of neon purple and blue decorated a str light sky, something that created an eerily relaxing atmosphere, though it was cruely ironic given the sole resident of the basement was insane as well as insanrly powerful.

Stairs and platforms were laid out in a strange pattern that made everyone unsure if they really knew what was going on, adding to the creepy and childlike atmosphere Flandre had created. "What the hell?" Marisa looked around. "Where'd the basement go?"

"It is likely the work of the Summoning Key. It can be used for this kind of thing, though it is supposed to be much less crude." Richtofen explained. "This means she holds some control over it by now, but it is not perfect. There are weaknesses we should look to exploit."

"Like what?" Reimu asked. "You're the one that knows her." Richtofen answered. "Well, she can move really fast, fire danmaku and lasers, probably super strong, can fly and is also a vampire. Is that enough?"

That seemed to change Richtofen's approach somewhat, though it was too late to back up now. "We will find a way to subdue her." That was another important factor making things difficult, the fact that the Elite couldn't kill Flandre. Granted, Flandre could probably tank a nuke to the face, but they still had to be careful, especially using the staffs. They might not have had the destructive capacity of nuclear missiles, but they still had ridiculous power.

"I think she's up there." Marisa pointed to a large platform above most of the others, with plenty of stairs leading to it. With no other ideas to try, the Elite agreed to go up there.

Sure enough, Flandre was there. She was making giant cubes crash into each other using the Summoning Key, laughing without a care in the world as both cubes broke apart. "Hey kid-" Marisa's ice breaker was enough to get her attention, but things were still tense and awkward as all hell. "I remember you two!" She proclaimed, pointing at Reimu and Marisa. She giggled, holding up the Summoning Key. "Wanna play? Trust me, this toy is amazing!" TJ was the one who made the first steps towards Flandre. "Look, that's not a toy." Her face fell. "What? What do you mean?!" He still kept walking, knowing that a sudden change in pace could upset her. "We need to-" "NO!" TJ then felt himself being picked up by a glowing energy field and then flung across the platform. "It's mine!" Flandre clutched it tightly. "Flan, please." Reimu tried to reason with her. "I'll take you outside if you give us that."

Flandre didn't even consider it for a second. "No way!" She then held up the Summoning Key again, blasting the Elite away to the lower platforms. All except PRIMIS. "Huh?" Flandre tried again, but it didn't work. The blood vials worn around the necks of PRIMIS' members gave them protection against that much.

"Just put down that thing, little girl!" Tank warned. "You have no idea how dangerous it is!" Flandre glared at him like he just told her Santa wasn't real and put the Summoning Key in a button up pocket on her dress. "You'll never take it away from me! I want it!" She then fired a laser at Tank, the marine barely being able to avoid in time. Flandre then held up a card, creating three clones of herself immediately. "You did not tell us that the child could create duplicates." Takeo said as he readied his staff. "I forgot. Kinda wishing I hadn't either." Was all Reimu had to say in her defense. The clones were as crazed and maniacal as Flandre herself, flying around in erratic fashion and shooting danmaku everywhere. It was a miracle that they didn't crash into one another.

"Alright!" Orchid began conducting proceedings. "We need to get the clones isolated!" You two can take one, the four guys can take another, and you ladies and take one as well!" She said, talking to Saya, Nemesis, PRIMIS and the Touhou duo. They didn't argue, and Flandre took the bait hook, line and sinker. Before long it was just Cole, Madotsuki, Jago, Orchid and TJ against Flandre.

"You guys _really_ want this, huh?" Flandre's mind was still overwhelmingly focused on not letting the strangers get their hands on her beloved toy. Cole took off his hat as he went over to her, hoping to negotiate. "Mr. Cole..." Madotsuki warned. In her lethargic state, she was unable to protest much further though. "I'll tell you what. You let us have your toy now, and we'll bring it back to you." Flandre was licking her lips. Not at the idea of the deal, but something more sinister. Madotsuki was beginning to approach. "Hey, stop!" TJ warned, trying to get to her before she got any closer.

"That's a lie!" Flandre deduced, pouncing on the detective. He was no match for her brute strength, being pinned to the ground almost immediately as her fangs glistened. It was so easy to forget she was a vampire. Madotsuki arrived just in time, her head turning into a blinding lamp for a split second which stunned the younger Scarlet sister for a brief moment. It was enough for Cole to reach his .45 and fire into her open mouth, knocking her off. She began coughing and wheezing, as the Elite stood back.

 _"Hehehehehehehehe...you know what's next, Paki."_

The five had seen enough to know that none of them, however strong they might have been, were strong enough to incapacitate Flandre for long enough to steal the Summoning Key from her. Save for Madotsuki, but she wasn't as tough as any of the rest of them. If Flandre got even one hit in then it was lights out, and seeing the speed of her clones, it was more than likely she could move faster than Madotsuki would be able to react at least once. So what to do? The one thing they had going for them was smarts. Flandre might have been nearly half a century old, but that was quite young for a vampire, meaning she had the mind of a child. But what could they do? They couldn't coax her into handing over the artifact either, so that was off the tables.

She held up the Summoning Key a second time. "Now, you can all go away!" She picked them all up using the Key's energy, leaving them helpless against her. One more final movement, she sent them all crashing down to the door level again, back where they had started. Oh? She had missed one.

The fall had hurt. Madotsuki felt it the worst, as she was the slowest to get up. The other three got up and felt around for where they were hurt the most. "How the hell are we supposed to get past that?" TJ asked. "I got nothing." Orchid admitted, making sure all her gear was still intact, fixing her eyepatch back over her eye. "Those four guys seemed like they could resist it. But other than that, a girl that strong with an object that potent? No chance for us without a counter like that."

TJ wasn't listening though. He was counting. "Hey, Orchid?" He asked. "Yeah?"

"Where's Jago?"

The man with the face mask had changed. His skin was a threating shade of blue, and overall he looked much more scary in the eyes of the vampire. From inside his own dimension, Gargos was powerful enough to resist control of the Summoning Key, a bubble he extended over his vessel. Flandre held up the Summoning Key once more, seeing that it didn't work on Jago. "Huh?" Shadow Jago wasn't interested in the pseudo threats made by the vampire. "I hope you weren't planning on just using that." Gargos' voice warned. "Otherwise I'm going to make sure you have a very bad time." He chuckled. Flandre giggled. "Yeah!" She cheered. "Let's play!" She soared into the air, doing a loop de loop before charging for Jago. That was the starting whistle for Jago, as he used the incredible strength in his legs to propel himself forward at remarkable speed.

Time seemed to slow down as Jago's eyes zoned in on Flandre's face as the childish blood sucker licked her lips, only a few feet away at this stage.

"NO MERCY JAGO!"

Jago rugby tackled Flandre to the ground, being sure to get underneath her so she was knocked off balance, and then to the ground. She then shoved him off, surprising both Jago and Gargos, as they both knew that took a ridiculous amount of strength for a small little girl like that. She thought nothing of it though, rising into the air and beginning to rain hellfire on Jago in the form of danmaku. His experience against Gengetsu would surely come in handy now, using his sword as a bat to strike danmaku back at Flandre. The young vampire wasn't expecting that, being hit once, but it didn't hurt too much.

She began stepping up her game, firing much stronger lasers at the Tibetian Monk. "ENDOKUKEN!" Jago yelled, throwing a massive blue fireball into the air and watching as it collided with the laser, blowing up in spectacular fashion. The young vampire was surprised by this. Usually it took all of her sister's strength to blow up one of her lasers like that, and usually they lasted for a few seconds before blowing up.

Orchid wanted to intervene, but she couldn't. Jago was completely out of control, but the danger of being hurt by Flandre was far too great. One missed swipe and a human like her was in big trouble. Flandre, in a lapse of judgement seemingly, took out a weapon of her own, a weird looking things that seemed as though it was a clock needle. Cartoonish and somewhat silly, though no one was prepared to have a lapse in judgement now.

Either way, she was charging in to fight Jago like a madman, swinging her needle wildly. Jago had his own counter, taking out the sword on his back and readying the slash. "GO JAGO!" Gargos yelled, having timed everything just perfectly. Jago swung and connected with Flandre's sword, stopping it seemingly dead in its tracks. But even with that, the sword managed to keep going. "What?!" Shadow Jago demanded, seeing that he was being forced back. Eventually, Flandre's swing was complete, sending Jago flying back to the edge and barely allowing him to stop in time. "She's stronger than we anticipated." Shadow Jago commented. "Much stronger."

"That might be so." Gargos agreed. "Still. She's young, inexperienced, and more than likely wouldn't whitstand a beating from us. You know what to do." Jago lunged at Flandre again, knowing he had to keep his strategies quick and varied. Not reaching for his sword, he was ducking underneath Flandre's needle and throwing punches. The punches felt satisfying to Jago, he could really feel the power behind every slug. Flandre was feeling it too, as the looks of pain definitely suggested. He mixed in a few strong kicks that earned cries of pain, Flandre's inexperience at close quarters combat showing. She threw a punch of her own, connecting with Jago's fist. This time, she couldn't power through. Gargos laughed, pleased with his work. "Well, it appears you do have limits." He inspected. "Agh!!!!" Flandre huffed, as she began giving Jago a dead eye stare.

All of a sudden, he began to feel tremendous pain in his chest, forcing him to kneel. "Wh...what is this?!" He demanded. "I don't know! It's that fucking vampire!" Gargos shot back. She would have done much worse to him too, only for Marisa showing up just in time. She rammed into the side of Flandre, knocking her completely off balance and releasing Jago from his pain immediately.

"Thanks." Jago said. "I've never seen her use that on people before..." Marisa muttered. "Use what?"

"Flan here can destroy some things by finding their 'eye'. I didn't think people had eyes too...unless you have something inside you."

One look at Jago and it was obvious that he had something inside him. Marisa didn't know it was Gargos, but Jago knew now that if she used that again, he was finished. Without Gargos, he wasn't nearly as strong physically. She was switching up strategies as Reimu arrived, flying far away into the air and firing down danmaku onto the three. "Shit!" Marisa swore as she narrowly avoided being hit by a stray bullet, taking that as the rally call to get on her broom. Reimu was quick to back her friend up, flying high to combat the threat.

Flandre wasn't easy to counter by any means though, with her danmaku having very little direction and being almost impossible to predict, some of it was bound to hit someone. No one yet, but it was only a matter of time. Reimu and Marisa were firing danmaku of their own which should have been hitting, but it wasn't. Whatever had gotten into her, even landing a hit was a challenge now.

"Jago!" He looked over and saw Orchid looking at him. The look hurt him, showing how hurt Orchid was to see her brother like that. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this." Jago apologized. "But I have no other choice." Orchid knew he was right, but she hated that. She wanted him to be wrong so badly, but even TJ knew that the boost in power Gargos provided him was massive, and while it might not have been equal to Flandre's power, it was definitely in the same league. It was their only choice.

His next strategy, oh boy he hoped it worked. He was bending his knees, waiting for the perfect moment to strike...and there it was.

Marisa had to stop herself falling off her broom as Flandre nearly hit her head yet again with dammaku. The amount of close shaves was pretty scary, that she was so consistently close to being decapitated or knocked off her broom which would've undoubtedly looked bad in front of Reimu.

Speaking of her, she was having her own problems, with Flandre's attacks being nigh on impossible to slow down.

"Hey, Marisa?!" She called out, still trying to avoid 50 million projectiles at once. "Any ideas?!"

Marisa didn't have any ideas. But this was Reimu, so she couldn't just say that. "Yeah!" She lied. "What we have to do is-"

 _WHAM!_

A deafening roar like thunder rang out through the basement, a mixture of pain from the recipient, exertion from the perpetrator, and the brutally strong impact, while Marisa and Reimu could only gasp in shock.

Not only had Shadow Jago jumped a ridiculously long way into the air, he was also able to connect with Flandre's jaw using an uppercut. His momentum still carried him upwards, leading to a moment where Flandre's expression was captured, just before Jago's momentum carried him past her. Both Reimu and Marisa could tell that the attack seriously hurt Flan. She was clutching her jaw, which should have easily been broken by the sheer force at which Jago powered through with his uppercut.

He was back again though as he came down, this time grabbing Flandre and going into full nose dive. She was of course, completely against the idea of crashing into the ground at speeds that would potentially hurt so much, and naturally she began fighting. She punched him in the head once, making it very tempting to let go, but Jago wasn't having it. He knew what he wanted to do, reaching for her button up pocket, trying to undo the button all while tanking impossible hits to the face.

His face guard came off after the next swing, with Flandre summoning her needle again. Jago finally undid the button, reaching inside the pocket and gripping the Summoning Key tightly.

"YES!" Gargos cheered. His victory was extremely short lived though, watching as Flandre stabbed through Jago's arm, making him cry out in pain and drop the Summoning Key. "Fuck it!" Gargos swore. If only Jago had wings. Then he'd be a perfect vessel. As things stood, the Summoning Key was plunging into Flandre's abyss to be lost forever.

Flandre was first to react, with Jago's arm weakened, she was able to burst out of his lockhold and chase after her precious toy. The Tibetian monk was left in freefall, hurtling towards the ground in an awkward position. He was bleeding now, and unable to get himself upright so he could land on his sturdy legs. Thankfully, he didn't have to worry for long, as a giant pillow formed on his landing spot, giving him a safe and soft landing.

"What the hell?" Gargos was as confused as Jago was, especially when the pillow disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "Thank you, Madotsuki." Jago thanked the drowsy girl for her help. "Ah." Gargos remembered briefly seeing her in the fight against Gengetsu, using her abilities. She seemed far stronger than her docile appearence, perhaps the biggest contrast between ability and appearence Gargos had ever seen.

Flandre was closing in on the Summoning Key, getting closer with every second. However, just within touching distance of the Key, she was greeted with a nasty surprise in the from of a grenade to the face. The blast forced her to grind to a halt, with the firey blast and the loud bang disorienting her completely.

"Graaaaaaawraaaaarrr!!!!!" Nemesis cheered as he landed his attack. "STARS!!!" Saya gentley landed beside him, Summoning Key in hand. Not many people knew she could sprout wings, as they were a part of her true form. They weren't intimidating wings either, they were clear and petite, like a butterfly's. That was probably why people assumed she just didn't have them, not that Saya blamed them. She never found much use for flying, until now of course.

"The doc will want this. He knows how to control it." Saya found herself fascinated by it though. Not attached, but it was such a strange object that Saya couldn't help but appreciate it. Now wasn't the time for gawping at a ball though. "Come on big guy, let's go."

PRIMIS had finally found their way back to the main stage. They had defeated the Flandre clone with ease, but their sense of direction let them down. Not entirely their fault, given the nonsensical layout of the 'basement'.

"Hey doc!" Saya called out. "Catch!" She threw the Summoning Key, with Richtofen safely catching it. "Ah, finally!" He seemed genuinely happy with the victory. The rest of the team in the basement had met up, wondering where Flandre was. All her clones were gone, leaving just her, wherever she was.

"Hey!" TJ pointed, seeing something approaching Richtofen from the other side of the platform. Flandre. She would have connected too, if not for the intervention.

"Flan, that's enough!" Remilia came from out of nowhere and tackled her younger sister into the air, saving Richtofen's skin. She then pointed to him as Remilia gently lowered her to the platform. "Give it back!" The younger sister demanded. "I said that's enough!" That silenced Flandre, as her sister looked her in the eyes and put her hands on her shoulders. "I know how attached to things you can get, but...sometimes...sometimes you have to give them up. I know I've had to do that a lot recently."

No one knew what she meant by that, but the important thing was that she communicated with Flandre. Despite seeming like a spoiled brat who listened to no one, Flandre clearly had a lot of respect for her elder sister. The way she listened attentively was proof enough of that.

"So, will you let them have it?" Flandre looked around at all the faces she could see. She nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry I caused you all so much trouble." A wave of relief washed over the Elite. Thank God. No more fighting that nightmare.

"It was no trouble at all." Orchid said with an uncharacteristic smile. "It was a good thing we got here before anything bad could happen." Cole added. Of course, bad things had happened, but where was the fun in ruining the moment? "Oh, Reimu?" Remilia approached the Shrine Maiden. "There's something I want to speak about with you. I need to tell you that we're leaving."

Before long, the Elite were out of the basement which Richtofen's limited control was just about able to restore to reality as opposed to a nightmare world. It was night out now, though it wasn't dark because of the moon, which looked comically large from the SDM. The Elite had heard that Remilia and co. at the Scarlet Devil Mansion were leaving, and so they stayed behind to help tidy the place up. Not much was going, in fact, most of the the things in the mansion were staying, only taking what was necessary.

Orchid wasn't happy with Jago, having allowed Gargos to take advantage of him once more. TJ took Jago's side in the arguement, knowing that they would more likely than not be dead if not for Shadow Jago. Orchid didn't disagree, but she made some valid points too. It was true that Gargos was going to try taking the Summoning Key for his own purposes, and with less and less enemies to contend with, who's to say he won't have invaded Leanbox at some stage in time?

Either way, TJ began to realized that the best course of action was not to get involved in Orchid and Jago's complicated family struggles.

"So how come you're leaving?" Reimu asked. "It's not safe here. I mean, we're not safe here, while we could be elsewhere." Reimu raised an eyebrow. "Where exactly is 'elsewhere'?" Remilia shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know much about it. Patchy knows more about it than I do."

Speaking of Patchouli Knowledge, she was having trouble. She had to pick the books she wanted to bring and fit them all into one box, a problem in and of itself, but her asthma prevented her from carrying the box more than a few feet without needing to recover.

"Y'know, I can carry that for you." Marisa offered. "Please." Patchouli coughed some more before she found her inhaler and recovered. "Can you ask Remilia where to put those?" She asked. "You mean you don't know?" Patchouli shook her head. "I only found out we were leaving yesterday." Marisa sighed, but hey, she owed Patchy. "Alrighty then..."

"Oh, wait." Marisa stopped. "Yeah?"

"Have you-" "No." Patchouli shook her head. "Why do you care so much? You said she loves Remilia anyway." Marisa argued. "Because it's torture to have to keep seeing you be awkward as you are. My God, I never imagined the smug little witch who kept stealing my books was such a wimp!" Patchouli retaliated.

Marisa stuck up her nose. Quite clearly, she was offended. "Tch! I could say it all right now if I wanted to! The time's...just not right yet." She asked around for directions, and eventually, she found the two of them.

Reimu and Remilia. They were still talking? Wow. Neither of them noticed her, but something prevented Marisa from attracting their attention. Her curiousity, of course. It begged her to listen to the conversation.

"I have to thank you again for this. For saving Flan." Remilia began, as Reimu moved closer to her. The moon still shone brightly, providing the two with all the light they needed.

They wrapped their arms around each other as their lips locked. Remilia was completely absorbed by the embrace, without a care in the world as to who saw it.

Not even Marisa.

Her jaw dropped, as something inside Marisa was slowly and painfully dying. No...that wasn't happening...that wasn't happening.

She saw that she was in full view of both of them though, so before she could process what was going on. As she was walking away, she heard Remilia beginning to speak. "Reimu..." Hearing that voice say her name like that made her blood boil. Just to see them kissing so passionately like that was...ugh. She wanted to throw up.

What could she do though? Reimu was happy. She loved someone as much as Marisa loved her, and that was what mattered. As long as Reimu was happy. Besides, it wasn't like she cared.

It wasn't like she cared at all.

It wasn't like it stung when she thought of Reimu being with someone else.

It wasn't like she was hurt when Reimu kissed Remilia like that.

It wasn't like Marisa felt her heart rip in two when she saw that.

It wasn't like all her efforts had been for nothing.

It wasn't like her life was empty now.

It wasn't like she was all alone.

It wasn't like she wanted to die.

It wasn't like...like...

Marisa's slow walk picked up pace as she dropped the box and ran for the Scarlet Devil Mansion library.

 _ **Author's Note**_

Can't really say much here. Sometimes the story tells itself, don't it?


	43. The Truth

Patchouli found Marisa in the library, with her head in yet another book, quite literally.

"Well, it didn't turn out well, so I hear." Patchouli teased. Marisa didn't respond. "Oh it's alright, you'll find someone else in no tim-" As Patchouli pushed the book away from Marisa's face, she saw something terribly wrong.

"Y-yeah...I guess it didn't work out..." She said solemnly, forcing her lips into a smile.

This wasn't supposed to be the reaction at all. Marisa was supposed to get flustered and fly off in a huff, but this time, she looked completely heartbroken. Like her life had lost all meaning, and the world had rejected her. Patchouli stopped, and was left with her jaw hanging open. For the first time, Marisa looked completely defeated, and what was more, she felt genuinely sorry for the human magician.

"Oh...Marisa, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"PATCHY!"

Patchouli was caught off guard as Marisa buried her head into her chest and began sobbing uncontrollably, gripping the resident bookworm tightly as she struggled for any source of comfort.

"It's not fair!" She screamed, her voice muffled as she refused to lift her head, in between choked sobs. "Everyone else got their happy ending, why not me?!" Patchouli just stood there, not even trying to get her to let go.

"Marisa..." She began. But then there were footsteps. Marisa knew straight away only one person would be wandering around the mansion like that now. With bitter tears still stinging her face, she grabbed her broom and flew out through an open window, leaving no trace that she was ever there.

Reimu walked in, not expecting to see Patchouli standing there with a completely and utterly stunned look on her face, with her clothes looking a little damp.

"Patchy? Was Marisa in here?" She asked, completely unaware of the events that took place prior to her entering the room. Patchouli said nothing, she simply found a chair to sit in before trying to come up with the best possible explanation for what had happened.

"Yes." She answered. "She was in here, but she didn't stay long. She took off on her broom mere moments before you entered." Reimu looked a little confused, wondering why Marisa would leave without announcing it to anyone, and where exactly she would be going.

"Did she say where she was going?" Reimu asked. Patchouli shook her head. "I cannot fathom why she would leave, nor where exactly she would leave to. If I were to guess though, I would first try her home." A lot of that was a blatant lie, but she didn't feel like she was the right person to explain that. Only Marisa could do that.

Reimu looked worried, but wouldn't say anything hinting at why she was looking for Marisa. But she was certain in what she wanted to do now, and set off for Marisa's house. It didn't take her long to get there, and the door was wide open. "Marisa?" Reimu took one look at the witch and saw a lot. She had been crying for a start. Her apron was stained with tears as were her cheeks, which meant she'd been crying recently. Marisa, without even saying anything, shut the door in Reimu's face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Reimu asked, genuinely concerned. Marisa didn't answer. "Marisa?" The Shrine Maiden tried forcing the door open, to no avail. She wasn't going to use any spell cards to do so, nor would she fire danmaku to create an opening. That was far too aggressive an approach to take in this situation. Maybe Marisa just needed some time alone? But to leave her alone, Reimu would have felt irresponsible. What to do?

Inside, things hadn't gotten any better. She was upstairs, crying into a pillow to muffle her sobs. That way Reimu couldn't hear her.

Reimu must have been there for an hour before Marisa finally came out of her house. Her eyes were still red, but she was in cleaner clothes. It was still the same as her regular attire, so she looked pretty normal aside from her eyes. "Are you alright?" Reimu asked, approaching Marisa. "Yeah." Marisa nodded. "I was just...I'm worried about this place." She lied. To Reimu, that made perfect sense. She had found herself in the same situation, although she didn't have a reaction as strong as her friend's.

Marisa tried smiling, hoping to ward off Reimu's suspicions. It was like she could stare into her soul, and honestly it was killing her inside. She didn't want to be just friends anymore, but if Reimu loved someone else then she was no more than a sideshow. 'Just don't bother her.' was Marisa's only thought. "I understand." Reimu bought the lie. "I don't want to leave this place either, and I'm glad you let me know this."

Marisa was still feeling awful inside. Reimu put her hands on the witch's shoulders, and looked her in the eyes. "I'm so glad I have you. You and Yukari are all I have left now. I know how it feels Marisa, so don't be afraid to ask for help."

That was all Marisa could take.

"REIMU!" She latched onto the youkai buster and began crying again. Everything had just been made worse, now Marisa was at rock bottom. Reimu wrapped her arms around her, holding her dearest friend tight and assuring her everything was going to be alright.

But it wasn't.

It would never be alright.

And the worst part was, she would never be able to tell Reimu about any of it.

* * *

"Welcome back, Cole." Monika greeted as the detective sat down. "Thanks Monika. Anything happen while I was out?" Monika shook her head, but then she remembered. "Oh yeah. There was one thing. Some guy calling himself 'Shame Saj' came here looking for you."

"That's right." Both of them jumped. "I was looking for you, Mr. Phelps. Can we talk a little?" Where the hell did he come from. Monika noticed Saj glance at her momentarily, before looking to Cole.

"Sure." Cole replied. "Well Cole, firstly I think Monika has something to tell you, and secondly, I'm going to suggest you talk to Cortana. She might have something interesting to say about this."

Saj disappeared around the corner to allow Cole and Monika to have their conversation one on one. "So, what was he talking about?" Cole asked.

Monika didn't answer. She was caught between answering truthfully, letting Cole know everything, and telling a lie to keep him blissfully ignorant. "No?" Cole asked. "Well, I've noticed something." He began. "You have?" Monika asked. Cole nodded. "I remember back to when I first met you, and I asked you to rewrite the Kronorium. You rewrote it in a pretty short space of time. A little too short I might say."

"There was a printing service." Monika answered. "I know that. But it was out of service, and as well as that, the copy was in your writing, as I noticed from the notes on your desk. So it's clear you wrote the entire thing yourself."

"I'm a fast writer." Monika explained. "When I've been doing it for so long it just comes naturally to me."

"You seemed to know what parts to write though. You even said it yourself that you only wrote out the important parts, despite having never seen the book before. How could you know what was and wasn't important before you even knew about the book?"

Shit. "Damn, I..." Monika couldn't help but laugh, astonished that Cole was so perceptive of the minute details. "Alright. You deserve the truth, but it's going to sound insane." She took a deep breath. "I...I've known everything that's going to happen up until this point. That means everything. Every interaction with you, every bad thing, every good thing, there was nothing I didn't know."

Cole nodded. "I believe you." Monika wasn't convinced though. "How could you blindly believe that?" She questioned. "I have questions obviously, but I still believe you. I'm trusting that you wouldn't lie. But why didn't you try to change any of the bad things?"

Monika rolled her eyes. "You say that like I haven't done that before!" She was starting to get angry. "What, you actually think I'm okay with losing all the time, with everyone around me dying or leaving as soon as they get the chance?!"

"No, but-" "Exactly!" She began to calm down, looking at her own feet. "I think a lot of the events depended on me intervening so they could happen. I decided this time that I wouldn't try at all. Guess what? Same stuff happens. So I figured, well, clearly nothing I do will make a difference!"

There was silence between the two for a moment, Cole coming up with a response in his head while Monika sat there with a dejected look on her face. She seemed pretty hopeless for once, but then again, it was her first time not hiding behind the facade of knowing what would happen. Cole wasn't interested in knowing either, as for him, he would feel uncomfortable and paranoid if he was to know what happened him.

"You know I fought the Japanese during the war, right?" He finally responded. Monika nodded. "I remember fighting them towards the end of the war, when we were threatening to throw everything we had at them. I remember fighting them though, and I always remember having nothing but respect for them. They had no chance of winning, but not once did they tell themselves that. They really threw themselves at us, and tried their hardest to change a situation that didn't have a happy ending."

"Your point?" Monika asked. "My point is that if ordinary people like the ones I fought to change something completely out of their control, then surely someone as gifted and powerful as you could at least try to change fate! Even if it doesn't work once, keep trying until it does!" He explained, trying to get her blood pumping. Monika looked deep in thought, considering everything Cole had said to her. "Think about it." He said, getting up and going to talk to Shame Saj.

Well, he certainly had a lot to say. A lot of it was bullshit, but he kept himself from sounding crazy with his demeanour. "I'm telling you Cole. That Cortana knows something. I'd be listening to her if I were you." Saj suggested. Cole raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Thank you, Mr. Saj." Cole was getting on his way, when he heard the man laughing. Cole turned, seeing him looking around to make sure no one was watching. "I'm going to let you in on a secret, Cole. Shame Saj is an anagram." He explained. "Well then, what's your real name?"

* * *

Remilia sighed as she surveyed her own room, making sure she had everything. Sakuya had been gone for a while now, so she relied on most of the Patchouli entered the room afterwards. "Up again? It's not like you." Remilia noted. "Maybe it isn't." The bookworm conceded. "But it does make me feel a little better." She said.

"Marisa saw it?" Remilia asked. Patchouli nodded. The vampire sighed. "The poor girl, she must be heartbroken. I can only hope Reimu can repair things between them."

"Tell me, what were you talking about with Reimu?" Patchouli asked. Remilia sighed. "I would prefer not to say. I think it's best left alone now." Patchouli nodded. "I understand." She paused before asking. "What do we do now though? Do we help them fight back? They seem so close to winning."

"That may be the case." Remilia acknowledged. "But I think this conflict has caused enough trouble. I'm moving away. I was contacted a while ago by a man who offered us all a move to another world. When the Summoning Key came to my attention, I took him up on his offer, so he should be by any day now."

"The whole mansion? Just like that?" Patchouli couldn't believe it. "Myself, Flan, you, Sakuya, Meiling, everyone here, no exclusions." Remilia confirmed. "From what I understand, we should be safe from all of that where we're headed."

Patchouli seemed uncertain, but far be it from her to doubt Remilia. She did have one question though. "Do tell me though, where exactly are we headed?" She asked. Remilia shook her head. "It would be better for me to explain more once we arrive. I myself am not entirely sure, but I have a strong feeling we will be safer there than here."

"How did you find out about such a place?" Patchouli asked. "I was approached by him. He was interested in recruiting Sakuya to his team, and promised the rest of us safety in return. I thought nothing of it initially, but he offered a way to contact him back in case I changed my mind. When Flan got a hold of that thing, that was when I changed my mind. Ever since then he's been trying to get back to me, and he wasn't successful until recently." Remilia explained.

To be fair, they wouldn't exactly have to try hard to find a place where they would be safer than they were now, but now wasn't the time for jokes. Soon they would be finding out exactly how safe they were in the new place.

* * *

Richtofen seemed pleased for once. He had the Summoning Key in hand, walking towards Green Heart's office place, he didn't really know what she had in plan, but he hoped he'd be able to help. It'd be great if he was able to help like that.

"Finally. The Summoning Key und the Vrill Device. With these both, we shall thwart the Shadowman with ease, leaving the villains severely weakened." Green Heart nodded. "That may be true..." Richtofen became a little unsure with her tone, losing his smile. Something about her seemed off.

"Why would it not be true?" He asked. Green Heart stared into the distance, a blank and emotionally void look on her face while she did so.

"Richtofen, you've been a great help." She finally said. What? What did that mean? "I don't understand." Richtofen told her. "The thing is, we're much further away from defeating the villains than any of us realize. In fact, I'd say they have the upper hand at this point more than anything." Richtofen shook his head. "That cannot be! We have made so much progress!" Green Heart stood up. "I'm sorry, Richtofen. There's nothing more I can do." Richtofen couldn't believe it. "That...that cannot be! It can-"

His protests were cut off when he noticed large claws sticking through his abdomen. He was shocked beyond words. All he could do was stare as his breathing grew increasingly heavily. Once the claws were retracted, all Richtofen could do was stagger for a bit, before he entirely collapsed to the ground.

Richtofen blacked out.

* * *

Cole took up Shame Saj on his suggestion. Maybe Cortana did know something. Even if she didn't it wasn't as if Cole had to believe her.

Cortana looked to be in agony. Though she didn't scream, she had a contorted pained look on her face which said everything, as the machine she was hooked up to was slowly deleting her from existence. Somewhat inefficient, and cruel, Cole would've thought, but his not to reason why, he figured. Yet here he was, down in the 'execution chamber' where Cortana was slowly being deleted from existence, while the rest of those captured had a similar fate in store for them. Or at least, those who couldn't be convinced that Cortana was wrong.

"Ms. Cortana?" Cole called out. "Oh, it's you." She muttered. "What?"

"I just have a few questions. If you could answer them for me, I would appreciate it."

Cortana looked into his eyes before sighing. "Fine. I guess I'll do anything to distract from this crap."

"So why did you want to take out Green Heart?" He began.

"I didn't. I needed her incapacitated though. Hopefully then we could restore peace."

"Your defenition of peace?" Cole asked. "Green Heart's name is Vert, Cole."

He already knew that, but he decided to humour her. Cole raised an eyebrow. "Can you tell me more about her?"

"She's from a game, like you. But even then, her powers are legendary. Rivaling the Shadowman, Yukari, anyone powerful like that you could think of with ease. Even me, but, I guess you already knew that, huh? Nice of you to listen to me, but just say if you already know." Cole

Cole couldn't bring himself to hate her. It was strange to think of it that way, she had been the biggest thorn in their side, she had done as much as anyone could have to bring them down, but here they were talking, not in an aggressive manner, but having a discussion like people.

"Well, I guess you're right. Tell me though, why were you created?" Cole asked. "I was created by Microsoft the company to oversee the worlds of Xbox and PC. They figured that an AI would be the best way to look after their world. Cold and calculated, that I would be able to work non-stop and not let things like emotion influence decisions which might hurt the world. They were kind of wrong there too. I was primarly in Master Chief's world, and well...I spent a lot of time with him. It didn't matter if it was 59 Elite against 1, I just wanted to have the chance to work with him again." She explained. Cole nodded, taking notes. Cortana found it interesting how he didn't once stop to correct her, simply letting her tell the story.

As for Cole, he was amazed that something which was effectively a computer system could be so genuine and loving. It was almost impossible to believe that she was the one who had been their enemy for so long.

"So let's get down to the real question. What connections do you have to the villains?" Cortana laughed. "I don't have any." She replied. "Surely you must have at least one. How about ARIA? You must have been connected somehow?"

Cortana shook her head. "No. I was never affiliated with her. I didn't have any connections to the Shadowman of the Lord of Games either, and I almost forgot Dr. West existed."

Cole knew in his mind that she had to be lying, or else nothing until this point made any sense. But he couldn't pick up on her lying. Even being as famed as he was for reading subtle facial cues to tell the slightest difference between a truth and a lie, he couldn't find anything to say he was lying.

Cole looked under the control panel, and with that, everything fell into place.

All of a sudden, it all made sense. Why Vert wanted Ultratech City destroyed, how she always knew where to attack with so little outside help, and why she killed off the villains she had captured.

The word on the underside of the control panel was 'Ultratech'. What the man had said to him was right.

He was going to remember that name for a long time.

James Charles Ash.

 _ **Author's Note**_

Well, I'd like to start explaining things now. But I'm only sort of gonna do that :P

It was always my intent that one of the two would be working for the villains, I'll get into why later, but in the end I decided it would make more sense for Vert to be doing so, again I will explain why later.

Also, Mr. Ash is back. Yeah, I was going to bring him back later, but I felt like bringing him back now. He still has his use, and I'll explain why he's here another time.

As for Monika, I always imagined her having that kind of ability, considering she can break the 4th wall and all that. She won't be using it for much longer, and I also thought that she wouldn't have story altering abilities since this isn't her own story.

Not much to say now, we're coming to the end of this fic though, and I'll have plenty of news when that happens as well as some other stuff, but for now I'll probably have to take some more time to write the next chapter, which will hopefully be a long one.

Until then though, thanks for reading.


	44. Last Chance

Green Heart was ready to address the Elite. It was almost time for them to face the rest of the villains, kill them all, restore order to her world. Cortana was going to be dead in only a matter of time now, and that was guaranteed. The Elite had been gathered in the streets of Leanbox, ready to go. Everyone had been gathered, no exceptions.

"So what's happening now?" Reimu asked. "We're invading Ultratech City, so we can kill off the villains. It will be our last fight."

"Our last fight?" TJ questioned. "Damn. Didn't take long."

"I know. But, assuming everything goes to plan, this should be our last fight, and a victorious one too."

"That's a lie!"

Who should step forward but the only man for the job, Cole Phelps. He wasn't alone either. With him were Monika and Mr. Ash, while behind him were Cortana's Elite, all of them released from their cells and aiming weapons at Green Heart.

In retaliation, Vert's Elite turned around and got ready to fight. "Don't shoot!" Mr. Ash reasoned. "Who the hell are you?!" Green Heart demanded. Mr. Ash chuckled. "I'm surprised."

"You're the one working with the villains, not Cortana!" Everyone's head turned to Cole at that moment.

The Los Angeles detective was pointing accusingly at Green Heart, slowly walking forward on impulse. "I'm not quite sure I follow." Green Heart replied, puzzled by the outburst.

"I think you're the one we've been after this whole time. I think you're responsible for all the shit we've been put through, and you were the one who tried to kill us off!"

Green Heart looked confused. "Come on. Why would I have helped get all those people out of the Shadowman's grip back at the Ultratech prison if I was only going to kill you all? It's not like you knew about it. I could have just left them there to die if I wanted."

"It was to earn our trust. Because you knew that Orchid, Jago and TJ had connections to the rest of the prisoners, it was only a matter of time before they started asking questions, and with Yukari on hand, then they would've done the same thing."

Green Heart was stumped. "Need more evidence?" Cole asked. "Absolutely! I'm offended by these claims!" She demanded. "Well, how about the fact that you knew where the Shadowman's base was? The whole reason Cortana had a camera set up here was because she knew you were an insider! How about any of the other stuff you knew? It sounds very suspicious to me!"

"As if that proves anything!" The Goddess rolled her eyes.

"Oh it proves a lot! But I still don't have you convinced, so shall I continue? Let's talk about Ultratech. You wanted us to destroy their computer systems because they had knowledge on us? They had knowledge on us anyway! What you were afraid of was that we would discover your ties with the Shadowman in particular! For my final piece of evidence, the execution chamber where Cortana is being held as we speak is made by Ultratech! Do you have anything to say for yourself?!"

Dead silence. Green Heart didn't even open her mouth, nor did anyone else.

Green Heart smiled as her eyes began to fade to purple, and her voice grew more and more non-human. "Well done." The Shadowman stepped out from behind her. "You figured it out after all."

There was shock amongst the Elite. That couldn't be true! "But tell me, how did you know it was me pulling the strings?" He asked. "I noticed back at the human village, someone said that 115 could be used to corrupt gods and deities. Green Heart fits that bill." Cole explained.

The Shadowman chuckled before he continued. "It's true, 115 is a versatile substance I use to get my way. Without it, I doubt I would have gotten so far against the Keepers, and I ultimately would have won too, if not for those four." He glared. "No matter, Richtofen is incapacitated for the time being, and I'd like to see any of you stop me with this!" He chuckled as Green Heart handed him the Summoning Key. "For you, my Lord." She bowed. "Excellent." He replied. "But now, I have no further need for you. I suppose now would be as good a time as any to let your mind rot away." With that, he clicked his fingers and Vert instantly changed. She dropped her lance and her skin began to rot, accompanied by various noises which sounded all too familiar to the Elite.

But then Cole fired a gun at her. The VR-11. Good thing Cole had listened to Richtofen. The Shadowman had heard of it, and seeing it be used was infuriating for him. "So that's how it is?" His anger was soon quelled as he composed himself. "No matter."

Vert immediately healed from her wounds, but it had taken a toll. For the first time, she reverted to her original form in front of the Elite. Her physique remained mostly the same, though her eyes were now blue and her hair blonde. Her attire looked far more elegant and formal, wearing an emerald green dress with a white skirt that had cream ends, as well as light green and white loose fitting gloves. On her feet she wore emerald green and white boots, and around her neck she wore a white collar with a ribbon hanging from the front.

It took her about a moment to collapse from exhaustion once she was released from the Shadowman's control, until he held up the Summoning Key and used it to create glowing energy fields around Vert's hands and feet, holding her up. "Your little stunt won't save her after all Cole. This was just simply meant to be what happened!" He then squeezed, making her hands and feet begin to crack, but he didn't get too far. "Hold it fuckwit!" Tank yelled. "You haven't forgotten about us, have you?!" He taunted. The Shadowman grimaced. "No, but I still hoped to never see your faces."

He dropped Vert again, saving her from complete incapacitation. "But still, though your Goddess might be alive, it won't matter."

"You bet your ass it will! What the hell are you gonna do?!" Marisa demanded. The Shadowman chuckled as he let the Summoning Key float up between his hands, rotating wildly. "I'm going to shape the world as I see fit! And in the world I see fit, you are good for nothing but the scrap heap!"

There was a low pitched noise like a subdued explosion that followed, accompanied by a blinding blue light. The Elite had to shield their eyes for the moment, but once they were opened, they stayed opened.

"...wow..." Was all Ryu Hayabusa could manage. The world had been transformed drastically. The sky was now black, only illuminated by sources of light from Leanbox and a large glowing blue sphere high above the city. It was very similar to what had been seen in the Scarlet Devil Mansion basement.

Leanbox itself was fragmented. You could see gaps between buildings where there was a very clear boundary leading to a bottomless drop into God knows what kind of horrific void was below the place. It wasn't just Leanbox though. Reimu could see her Shrine not too far away, floating in space much like Leanbox. It was connected to a building they all recognized, the Ultratech HQ. At the foot of that building, Niko recognized parts of Liberty City, which tied into Leanbox. There were countless other locations too. Cole could recognize clearly the streets of 1940's Los Angeles connected to another part of Leanbox, while connected to that, Overwatch could see a weird fusion of many previous battlegrounds they had been on. Many platforms on top of that connected to the bizarre environments Conker, Banjo and Kazooie had been through. That was only the tip of the iceberg though, but if everyone were to list the things they recognized then the Shadowman would have had enough time to remodel the world and kill them all individually.

"Perfect." The Shadowman smiled. "If I were you, I'd start digging. This place will be your grave, Mircrosoft Elite!"

"Not quite!" The Shadowman's joy soon turned to disgust as he saw a relatively uninjured Richtofen standing behind the Elite. "You no longer have the Summoning Key, as predicted."

The Shadowman knew he would lose the Summoning Key once more, but he didn't care. He would find it again, and with the Elite dead, no one else would care about it enough to race him in finding it. What he did care about though, was that Richtofen had gotten back on his feet so quickly. "You...how did you recover?!" The Shadowman demanded. "Simple. You underestimated me, und it cost you dearly once more." Richtofen answered.

"Still." The Shadowman chuckled. "The rest of the villains are safely out of this dimension. Once I leave through my own portal, there is no way for you to get out." Saying it out loud to himself made the Shadowman begin laughing. "To think it was so easy. I'll see you all in hell." With that, he was gone, leaving the Elite alone in this strange world.

"Damn it, I missed him." Cortana was up on her feet. "Cortana!" The AI looked up to see Vert. She breathed a sigh of relief, seeing Vert outside her HDD form. "Thank God, you're ok." So they k ew each other as friends? It wasn't implausible, but

"Mr. Ash already is alligned to someone else, so he's safe. But Monika isn't. She'll need to be initiated. Vert, if you would do the honours." Cortana suggested. Vert nodded. It was the least she could do, with everything that had happened between the two. She was absolutely disgusted with how she had been played so easily.

Quickly, she got back into her HDD form. Vert slashed twice in the air, creating a glowing green 'X'. It didn't move for a second, but once Vert stabbed the middle of it, it shot forward and entered Monika through her chest, making her entire body flash green for a second.

That was that. Vert remained in her HDD form, as they would soon be out of time, but it meant that Monika was now a member of the Microsoft Elite. One of them. But as soon as that was over, it was back down to business, trying to figure out how they were going to get out of this mess. "Now, how do we get out?" Cortana asked.

"I got nothing. Teleporters ain't working for getting us out." Engineer explained. "Can you get us out Yukari?" Reimu asked. Yukari struggled. "They planned for me this time." She admitted. "I can't find any tears in reality to exploit. Unless someone else has an idea, then we're stuck."

Then, the Elite began hearing familiar noises to weren't. Cries of the undead as loud as ever, coming from every direction. Groaning and snarling. Shit. Pits began to form in the stomachs of some of the Elite as they could see dozens upon dozens of the undead approaching from all sides. None of them approached at a quick pace, but their numbers were enough to pose a threat on their own.

"Fuck." Booker was beginning to sweat. There was fucking thousands. "Damn it..." Cortana was biting her lip, with nowhere to run, and no goals to work towards now. Their time was limited before their world was going to be destroyed, and now they had no time to even think of a way to get out. No one would resign themselves to that though, that was seen as an unthinkable option. There had to be some way out, Richtofen knew it. There had to be a fail-safe, a way recorded by the Keepers to-

Hang on.

"That's it!" Richtofen had a epiphany. "The records! Of course!" The records he left in the Basilicom were going to have some use after all. They had to, it was their only way out.

"The what?" Alan Wake asked. "Records I found at West Manor!" Richtofen explained. "They are in the Basillicom. They have the power to open gateways to other dimensions, so it is our only hope!" The undead would be on them any second now. "Be prepared!" Chief warned. "We could get separated very easily, so it's important we all know where to go! No one try to be a hero, just get yourself there first, then worry about others! Inside though, Chief was having doubts about calling the battle against Vert back at the old base his last stand, because this seemed far more fitting of that title.

With the world around them fragmented and threatening to fall apart at the drop of a hat, the undead pounced. The Elite got moving as quickly as they could, as the undead began to pick up pace. Some, like Ryu Hayabusa had no trouble taking care of large numbers, while some like Cooper Chance had trouble going up against more than five at once. One thing was clear as day though, and that was the blood resulting from the conflict. Any previously clean clothes were already stained, while the loud sounds of explosions and gunshots dominated what was once Leanbox.

Truly, the last chance of the Microsoft Elite was underway.

 _ **Up in the sky**_

 _ **Down-wind another**_

 _ **Light goes dim**_

Attacking the hordes, Reimu blew up plenty of undead with her danmaku, hoping not only to reach the portal safely but to also secure a path there for as many people as possible.

 _ **And I know it's him**_

Rick Taylor ran with all his might. The Terror Mask had taken over, using Rick's brute strength to tear through everything in his way, even barreling through walls to get to the gramophone. Any zombies that came close were immediately knocked about 20 feet back, creating domino effects as they knocked each other down.

 _ **Deep inside of me**_

 _ **Light of my life**_

 _ **Find my shadow**_

 _ **Wandering in my mind**_

Ryu Hayabusa sliced open another, and another and another, one by one the zombies were cut to ribbons, but the ninja was no closer to finding a way out. "Ryu!" Kasumi called out. "This way!" Ryu followed the voice of Kasumi, with the two sprinting away from the rampant corpses behind them.

 _ **Now all the threads will unwind**_

 _ **When all the stars are combined**_

Thankfully Overwatch and Team Fortress were able to team up. They had been forced to a standstill, but at least they could fight. Time seemed to slow down for them all as gnashing teeth were closer than was probably safe to each of their faces. They held their nerve though, knowing even the slightest moves could be the difference between life and death.

 _ **And I need**_

 _ **Time to break all the mirrors**_

Elsewhere, things were not going well. The undead had isolated one of the Elite. Francis knew he was facing the end. He never gave up though, firing his gun to the bitter end, even as the undead pinned him up against the wall and began ripping him to pieces.

Elsewhere, Cooper Chance had suffered much the same fate. Two down already, and they would not be the last.

 _ **But my mind is in pieces**_

 _ **And I'm not**_

 _ **Ready to make it clearer**_

Niko and Nick had been backed up against a sealed door. They looked to the hordes just once and knew without looking again that it was game over for them, as Niko cocked a grenade to take as many zombies down with him as he could. Alll around, the Elite were closer to death than ever before, with the Shadowman having nothing to lose in this dimension, he had saved his best for last.

 _ **Upon a time**_

 _ **Down in a little room**_

Jago smashed open the skull of another zombie while TJ punched with enough force to do the same. Orchid was relying on her sidearm to fight as using her usual means would have been too risky. The tactics were working so far, with Glacius being completely safe from the undead. His icicle arms could slice them open like butter, carving a path for the Killer Instinct five as well as whoever else went along.

 _ **Made just for me**_

 _ **I heard them**_

 _ **Whispering my name**_

Balrog snapped the neck of another undead, ploughing his shoulder into another to the right, all while the Terrarian was eliminating as many as he could with the Terra Blade. It just seemed like no matter what happened, there would always be more zombies to replace the ones that were just killed, and it was starting to take its toll.

 _ **And**_

 _ **Taking you away**_

 _ **Pain isn't the only**_

 _ **Gift I'll give you slowly**_

Agent 47's stealth skills weren't going to be much use, but at least his improvisation skills were. Anything he could find became a weapon straight away.

 _ **But I'll give it solely**_

 _ **and wholly**_

 _ **to you**_

Jack Cooper was the next to go, grabbed and bitten by one zombie before the rest of the undead around him were attracted to his screams. "Jack!" Brutus cried. That proved to be a mistake also, as he was soon swarmed with undead, the first taking bites out of his back before they toppled him to the ground. Joanna could only watch on in horror, before quickly moving on before she was next.

 _ **I've come to find**_

 _ **Mind and matter wandering without time**_

 _ **Then all the flowers combined**_

 _ **With all the souls that went blind to see again**_

Alan knew it was over for him, seeing how far he had to go and knowing he had no ammo left. He tackled the zombie to the ground, yelling at Hisako to run. She wanted to stay, but the overwhelming numbers closing in on the author who was being devoured made it too risky. Hisako looked genuinely horrified for the first time in a long time, running as fast as her legs would allow her to.

 _ **Time to make it all clearer**_

Monika finally learned how to fire a gun, even if necessity was the only reason. Truth be told, she was terrified, and extremely lucky to have landed the shot. She was soaked in blood, none of it hers, her ears were ringing and her voice was going because of all the shouting she had to do. "Mr. Cole!" Madotsuki called out. A portal to the Basilicom! "Yes! Come on!" Cole grabbed Monika and Madotsuki, jumping through the portal with all three as it sealed on the other side.

 _ **And if time never ceases**_

 _ **I'll be ready to break the mirrors**_

The Jack finally made it, laughing as he saw the undead. "I pity you, you filthy corpses!" He yelled, blasting them apart with energy beams from his sword. Hopefully that would allow others forward to the portal.

 _ **Drawn in a line**_

 _ **Sharp edges in the dark**_

 _ **Made just for me**_

One of them was Death's Hand, who could scarcely believe that it was the Jack himself who was helping. He said nothing as he joined the guard, but no words were needed. Only zombie killing, which he was more than capable of.

 _ **I hear them**_

 _ **Waking the profane**_

 _ **And slithering in pain**_

Marisa's Master Spark was the next attack launched, taking out a huge chunk of the zombie population with the attack, Marisa's cold, emotionless stare indicating that she got no joy from it.

 _ **And withering away**_

Steve's dead body tripped up Marius Titus, very nearly costing him his life as he ran, but he was quickly up on his feet and ready to fight. He ran, thankful that the undead made the same mistake as him, piling up as they tripped over the body too. Sam Fisher was firing at them too, creating a blockade which looked like it was working. Thank God. With the additional time, Sam ran towards the Basilicom.

 _ **Death isn't the only**_

 _ **Gift I've given slowly**_

The Basilicom was right there, in the sight of Richtofen and PRIMIS. Over the roar of staffs that killed the hordes with ease, they marched towards the gramophone, and hopefully sanctuary.

 _ **But I'll give it solely and**_

 _ **Only to you**_

Marcus Fenix watched as a building collapsed behind him, falling on at least a dozen zombies. Shit, things were already falling apart?!

 _ **I glow in moonlight**_

 _ **You fall like rain (you fall like rain)**_

 _ **We'll take the ever-after**_

The portal was already wide open, allowing the Elite to start pouring through. "Let's go!" Chief ordered, staying behind to secure the portal. "Remember Chief, we only have a few minutes!" Chief understood that perfectly, and he planned to use every second available to ensure everyone was safely through.

 _ **And turn it into pain**_

Elite members began to run through the portal as the world began to shake. Collapse was imminent at this stage, with the weak structure of the world only proving itself. There was not a lot of time left.

 _ **Your pain is the one thing**_

 _ **That I feel inside me**_

More and more Elite members poured through, though Chief had no idea who was going through. He didn't have time to check, but he was getting bad feelings in his gut.

 _ **That I have been hiding**_

 _ **Inside me for you**_

The shaking became more violent as more of the Elite went through, indicating that time was almost up. "Chief, we're on less than a minute!" Cortana warned. He ignored her, focusing on protecting the portal.

 _ **Your death is the singing**_

 _ **I hear when I'm dreaming**_

 _ **And the bell I'll be ringing**_

 _ **When I sing for you**_

Buildings were beginning to crash down into the void below, cutting off large chunks of the zombie population, with the last of the Elite beginning to come through now. "Get yourself through, Cortana!" Chief ordered. "Not while you're still here!" Cortana yelled back.

 _ **Pain isn't the only**_

 _ **Gift I'll give you slowly**_

 _ **But I'll give it wholly**_

 _ **and solely to**_

Chief looked around the quickly crumbling world, taking one last look. "Chief, come on!" Cortana yelled from the other side. Was everyone through? No time to wonder. There was just no time left anymore. Whoever didn't make it now was doomed. A very dark thought, but Chief knew that however large the bodycount was, it was no use to add himself to the statistic. Without further hesitation, he jumped through, the last remnant of a now destroyed world.

 _ **You**_

The fragmenting world finally fell apart as the portal closed. Parts of reality fell into a void like pieces of a stained glass window, leaving nothingness in their wake.

With that, the world of the Elite was no more. The villains had won.

For now.

What they didn't know was that the Microsoft Elite were still alive, and they would never forget being slighted like that.

But there was one question. Now what?

 _ **Author's Note**_

The whole 'coming together of worlds' thing (I use that term very loosely) was inspired by Revelations in Bo3, as evidenced by my song choice. Yeah, I know quite a few people just died. I didn't even mention them all (come back next time for that). I have more to say after this, it's just trying to come up with ways that are spoiler-free is the problem. The next Author's Note is going to be a long one, I can feel it.

There's one more chapter after this. An epilogue of sorts, where I will be able to say more than I can here which is no doubt a good thing. I've always wanted to use 'The Gift' by Elena Siegman in one of these too. Not much to say now, but I'll have plenty to say in the next and final chapter, which shouldn't be too long away.


	45. Ending Final Note

"There. They should be less than nothing now. Like they never existed." The Shadowman chuckled. "Too easy, once we earned their trust without them even knowing, they had no chance." King Dice applauded, though the over-enthusiastic nature of it made the Apothicon leader believe it was sarcasm. "With that spectacular piece of treachery, we can move on! Accomplish anything!" ARIA knew he was being genuine. She had grown fond enough of the casino owner to understand his quirks, however many he had. "On the negative side, we lost our Goddess." The Shadowman dismissed the concerns. "She is indeed powerful, and a loss. But we have two more at our disposal."

"Neither or which we own." Dr. West added. "Yes, but it's not like the enemy has them. I'm sure Palethorn and Darkrai won't mind having us on board." The Shadowman pointed out. Truth be told, he didn't know much about the other villains at all. He knew who they were, but that was it. Not much concerned him until that point, since getting rid of the Elite had been such a big priority. It was almost like he had too much room, but in truth he still had much to do. For a start, he had to find the Summoning Key again, and make sure not to lose it. Even with the Elite out of the way, competition would still be strong and there was no guarantee that it would all come off. He would have to keep up his efforts in pursuit of his goal.

"ARIA. What do you know about the others?" He asked. "I know a small amount. Not too much." She answered. "Surely you know about Darkrai? He'll probably help you find that key." The Shadowman didn't really trust Darkrai, and by the sounds of things, he'd probably try to seize power for himself.

Speaking of Darkrai...

The Shadowman looked over to Gengetsu. He promised Darkrai an apprentice, so maybe he could get something in return?

Oh-ho, yes he could. The plan was all falling into place now!

* * *

"Come on! We need to keep moving!" Juri complained. "I'm just trying not to set fire to this place!" Cinder argued back. He had to admit that Juri was clever though, getting them to this place before A-Bomb had a chance to blow them up. "Do you have any idea where the hell we are?" He asked.

Juri shook her head. "Not really. Does it matter?" The obvious answer was yes, but Cinder was smarter than to fall for a trick question. "I guess not. As long as we're safe." She smiled. "Exactly. Now, quit your whining and let's move on!" Cinder was amazed. He thought he was pretty insane, but then he met Juri Han. The woman had no concept of reality seemingly, doing what she wanted, when she wanted, regardless of whether or not it was the best thing to do. But at the same time, she was smart. There was a method to this madness, and anyone could see that. Even when she suggested going straight into Leanbox, there was clearly a reason for her doing so.

The fact that there were more records too that Juri took proved she was as smart as she needed to be. She understood that the records were important, even if she didn't know what for.

She stopped after reaching another tree. They all looked the same. "Are you gonna climb up?" Cinder asked. Juri shook her head. "I just realized that I really don't know what to do now." Cinder was about to unleash hell on Juri at that moment, but he held his tongue. "And what made you realize that? You finally back down to earth yet?" He let some of his anger out, though Juri didn't seem to care.

She looked around. "I guess we can have a look around, right?" Cinder didn't see anything better to do, and so they got to it.

* * *

The portal closed behind Elite, meaning that was that. Anyone left on the other side, dead or alive, was gone.

Vert was alive, as were Cortana, Mr. Ash, Chika, Yukari and Dr. Monty. As far as the Elite were concerned, the majority of them surviving. Agent 47, Alex Mercer, Balrog, Banjo, Kazooie, Cole, Shepard, Conker, Sun Kin, Doomguy, Richtofen, Dempsey, Takeo, Nikolai, Dovahkiin, Glacius, Gordon, Hisako, Isaac, The Jack, Jack Walters, Jago, Joanna, Kasumi, Madotsuki, Marcus, Marius, Monika, Chief, Nemesis, Orchid, Reimu, Marisa, Yukari, The Gunstringer, Cuphead, Mugman, Saya, Rick, Ryu, Sam, Shovel, Shu, Steve, Stranger, Team Fortress, Overwatch, The Terrarian and TJ remained.

But that had much worse implications. Alan Wake, Booker, Elizabeth, Brutus, Cooper Chance, Ezio Auditore, Jack Cooper, Jason Fleming, Kaim, Kameo, Francis York Morgan, Stubbs, Nick, Niko, Spelunker, Vince and countless others were now dead. That was that.

The other Killer Instinct combatants were all dead too, save for those protected by ARIA, ie. Spinal and Kilgore.

Vert looked around at the wounded and bloodied Elite, now minus nearly half their members, with a cloud of despair hanging over everyone. She wasn't looking so great herself, and she felt even worse. Not just with grief, but physically.

Cortana was feeling the worst of all though, as she just collapsed in a heap. Chief was the first over, scared to death that she might have just died. The truth was that she was merely hurting, albeit she was hurting quite a bit. The chamber she had been sealed in may have hurt her, but at least she was alive. As the Elite desperately tried to recover, Vert could feel the burden on her shoulders. If only she wasn't so easily taken advantage of...then...then...

Chief walked up to her. Everyone else was tending to either Cortana or themselves, making the gesture seem pretty sincere. "Hey. None of this was you fault, okay?" She was gritting her teeth as she stood up. "I know." She said. "But I'm still going to make all of them pay for using me!" She was still in her HDD form, with fire in her eyes. "Woah, calm down!" Chief attempted in vain to control her. She looked absolutely livid, like she was going to kill the next person who even slightly irked her.

But that wasn't the case. She let out a cry of pain and dropped to her knees, still hurt from the Shadowman. "Damn it!" She gritted her teeth, with more of the Elite coming to her side. "That bastard...He'll probably have gotten his fucking hands on the other two as well!"

Wait, what?

"What did you say?" Cole asked. "The others...Noire, Blanc and Neptune. The other Goddesses."

There were more of them? But...what? It didn't make any sense. "How can there be more?" Marcus asked. "As I am the CPU of Leanbox, and Goddess of Microsoft, the others have their own nations which they watch over. Noire with Lastation, Blanc with Lowee and Neptune with Planeptune. The chances are that if this is what they did to us, then there's no reason for them to have not done the same to the others."

"So that means..." "The world of Lastation has likely gone through something similar, yes Isaac." That gave the space engineer a sinking feeling in his stomach, hearing that the Playstation All-Stars could likely be embroiled in a war against something similar to Vert. "I heard rumours of the same thing." Mr. Ash backed her up. It's very likely that not only have the other two won their fights against their nations, but also that they now control the characters from those platforms."

Shit.

Now, all of a sudden, the task seemed impossible. To take on two or three Goddesses and a whole host of villains? Tough, but doable. Now throw an entire army of mascots into the mix, attacking from two separate sides, and the task got a hell of a lot harder. "Still, we have to try." Green Heart defiantly declared. "They would want us to give in. But I know for a fact that I won't let them sit back after this!"

The sentiment was echoed by the Elite. No way were they letting ARIA, the Shadowman or anyone else get away with what they had done. But for now, they were tired and still shaken from the battle to escape Leanbox. For now, they would rest where they were.

Once they got going again, no one was going to stand in the way of the new and unified Microsoft Elite.

 **To Be Continued**

 _ **Author's Note**_

Juri and Cinder survived, yeah. I know I haven't talked about them in like, forever, but they're here. Also, yeah, I'm ending this on the 'to be continued' note. Sorry, but as I will explain, this was planned.

Well, that concludes this fanfic. It didn't take as long as PSAS to write but nonetheless, I enjoyed myself.

As you probably have guessed, there's another part to come. Still so much unresolved, so I can't leave it unanswered. It was always my intention to leave this open ended, as I wanted it to be different from the first fic I did. I remember thinking to myself at the end that the two Goddesses were going to set aside their differences and kick the villains asses, but I thought it was too overdone. That isn't to say it can't be good or that I don't enjoy it, but I had the opportunity to do something different and well, I wanted to take it. Glad that I did.

I have to say that Microsoft was a very new front for me. I have only ever owned the original xbox, and aside from that I have been entirely Playstation and Nintendo, so that at least means the next fic should be more familiar territory for me. As you might already know, I'm doing a Smash Bros. fic next, and I'm really looking forward to it. I was initially unsure as to whether or not I wanted to do that, but after the PSAS fic I just knew I had to do one. I didn't want to do it straight away though, and I felt also like a Microsoft crossover had a lot of untapped potential.

As you might have guessed, SEGA isn't independent here, sorry. I did toy with the idea though, as well as 3DO and Atari but I never planned full fics around those. I may do a SEGA roster, but the main reason for me personally is the fact that I would have so many 3rd party characters gone from other fics. A roster would still be fun though, and I am going to reference it.

Up next: Super Smash Bros: Rally Call, coming hopefully late February. I'm super on board with this idea already and my hope is to drive this fic out of the park.

Thank you all so much for reading, and a special thanks to CapitalClassShip for your review and there's really not enough I can say for N Kirby and all her reviews. Seriously, thanks so much.

So anyway guys, until then, I take my leave.


End file.
